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Sara Goldstein Ernst Narrative Fiction 22 October 2000 An Analytical View of
Araby Viewpoints from which stories are written are used to enhance the overall
point a story is making. James Joyce’s Araby is no exception. Narrated by a
young boy of about twelve or thirteen, it depicts his personal coming of age.
The usage of a first person narration allows the reader to see things the way
the boy sees them; be as innocent and wistful as he is, thus feeling the
incredible intensity of his eventual realization. In addition to this coming of
age theme, intricately woven throughout are hints to Joyce’s contemptuous view
of Roman Catholicism, as well as many biblical allusions. Araby takes place
around the turn of the century in Dublin, Ireland. At this time in history the
Catholic Church had a great hold on the country. James Joyce held an immense
dislike for the Roman Catholic Church and the strains it put forth, however
these were not feelings that could be shared openly.
Instead Joyce wrote about
them in a symbolic fashion, using his writing as a tool to speak out. The
opening paragraph of this story sets it up as one that will do just that. He
states, “...it was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian
Brothers’ School set the boys free,” suggesting that their religion had
imprisoned them. The former tenant of the boy’s house, a charitable priest, had
died inside and left his money to institutions and his furniture to his sister.
This could be a symbolic reference to the fall of Roman Catholicism; his house
being the country of Ireland, the priest being the religion. It is also
interesting to note that the priest passed on with a lot of money- basically a
contradictory situation (though the narrator fails to question this due to his
naiveté. How would a priest end up with so much money? This is a possible stab
at the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the church. Religion, as a whole comes up
symbolically many times throughout the story. Joyce makes obvious reference to
the Garden of Eden when describing “the wild garden behind the house [which]
contained a central apple tree”. This is a parallel to a well known fall from
grace, as the boy will soon experience. In addition, nearly all the boy’s
thoughts of his silent admiration can be identified as religious references.
Many of them happen to be sexual desires stifled by religion. The girl is most
certainly used as a representation of the Virgin Mary. One night, before the
bazaar, the boy watches out the window “the brown clad figure cast by my
imagination, touched discreetly by the lamplight at the curved neck, at the hand
upon the railings and at the border below the dress.”
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