Araby

When we were told we had to read this story my first thought was… this story sounds quite familiar, than I realized that we had too read it the previous year in my grade 12 English studies! I was thrilled that it would be an easy read because of the fact I already knew what it was about.

Araby is a story by James Joyce published in 1914 in his collection “Dubliners”, and if you haven’t guess by the title of the collection this story takes place in Dublin, Ireland! It starts us off with a young boy who lives in a very drab part of town, on North Richmond Street to be precise. The young boy, who remains nameless, finds himself falling in love with Mangan’s sister. He admires her from afar, and when he finally comes in conversation with her he is in a loss of words. She asks him if he is going to Araby, and he is unsure of weather or not he has said yes or no. She then says she cant go, being blind by his admiration towards her he tell her that he will bring her back something; even though he isn’t even going to Araby.

Realizing what he just did he decides to go to Araby just to buy her something and to make her feel happy (what a guy). However the harsh reality when the boy finally arrives to find only one shop open is quite sad. However it is a good experience for him because he finally realizes that the love that he had for this girl was nothing more than a crush. At the end the boy feel quite stupid for traveling so far for something worth so little.

I guess the lesson from this piece is that love sometimes gets the best of you and quite often you need to think before you act! Cause I know I wouldn’t go great distances for someone unless I was proven by him or her that they are worth the effort! Overall I find this story interesting and it kind of makes me want to read some more of his collection “Dubliners”.