Transcript James Joyce’s “Araby”

James Joyce’s “Araby”
Background
 “Araby” is one of 15 connected stories that make up
Dubliners written when Joyce was a young man
 It is part of a larger story of life in Dublin around the
turn of the 19th century
The Epiphany
 “Araby” is very much associated with Joyce’s idea of
epiphany (a literary technique made famous by
Joyce).
 Epiphany – Greek: “to show”
 Joyce uses the term to refer to “a sense of sudden
radiance and revelation while observing a
commonplace object”
 As with all of Joyce's stories in Dubliners, the main
character undergoes an epiphany that reveals to him
the true nature of his predicament.
“Araby”’s Epiphany
 The boy hears the conversation at the bazaar between a
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woman and two men
It dawns on him that the bazaar, which he thought would be
so exotic and exciting, is really only a commercialized place to
buy things.
Furthermore, he now realizes that Mangan's sister is just a girl
who will not care whether he fulfills his promise to buy her
something at the bazaar.
His conversation with Mangan's sister, during which he
promised he would buy her something, was really only small
talk—as meaningless as the one between the English girl and
her companions.
He leaves Araby feeling ashamed and upset.
This epiphany signals a change in the narrator—from an
innocent, idealistic boy to an adolescent dealing with the
harsh realities of life.
Imagery
 The use of pictures, description, or figures of speech
such as SIMILES and METAPHORS to visualize a
mood, idea or CHARACTER.
 Imagery may involve all the senses, but usually
involves the sense of sight.
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Light and dark
Sight and blindness
The quest
Araby – evokes the idea of a distant, exotic realm
Symbolism
 SYMBOL, SYMBOLISM: A symbol is something
that stands for something else. Symbolism is multidimensional--it may convey a number of meanings.
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Christian symbolism (eg: the garden // the Garden of Eden)]
Araby – symbolizes the exotic
Discussion Questions
1.
What's is the central theme in this story?
2.
Discuss the importance of setting. What aspects are oppressive and what
are liberating? Explain?
3.
How does the bazaar Araby take on symbolic importance?
4.
Where's the epiphany in the story? What does the boy realize about
himself? Is anything gained by the narrator through his frustration and
humiliation?
5.
Look at the first paragraph and examine the wording and images Joyce
uses to set the scene. What does he tell us about the speaker's vision of
home?
6.
What striking images help you understand the boy’s feelings?