Abstract
John Updike's "A&P" and James Joyce's "Araby" reflect many of the same literary traits. This paper explains that the plot, theme and point of view are three of the most resembling aspects of the two stories. It shows, however, that they diverge several times on certain other important literary qualities - setting, characterization and diction. It concludes that although each story conveys the author's purpose, together they leave the reader with an even greater understanding.

From the Paper
"The main plot of the two stories relates in many ways. On the first glance a reader might believe the stories focus is primarily on a young man, whose life is monotonous, and lives instead in a fantasy romance state through his interest in a girl. Joyce's character "wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days" because they were boring compared to Mangan's sister (Joyce 83). In the end "I look around for my girls, but they're gone, of course" both characters are left alone without the girls (Updike 30). At a closer look the reader realizes the two stories describe a young man who, through an attraction to a girl, learns the difference between youthful idealism in romance and reality. Sammy and the boy in "Araby" take the reader through their myopic thoughts of the girls they desire which eventually leaves them with their painful realizations of how hard life can be."

Tags:analysis, araby, characterization, compare, contrast, diction, james, john, joyce, literary, p, plot, poit, setting, theme, updike, view

Abstract
The paper examines James Joyce's "Araby", the Joycean re-telling of the classic coming of age story, and describes how the narrator traverses the rocky and uncertain path between the romantic ideal of his imaginings and the stark, ugly reality of the world around him. The paper highlights how Joyce shows his readers, through symbol and metaphor and outright exposition, how easily it is for a beautiful romantic world to come crashing down in the face of the sometimes unfortunate reality of the world in which we all live.

From the Paper
"James Joyce's "Araby" is the Joycean re-telling of the classic coming of age story. In this story, the narrator traverses the rocky and uncertain path between the romantic ideal of his imaginings and the stark, ugly reality of the world around him. This is the point of his brief story, the purpose of his tale. Joyce shows his readers through symbol and metaphor and outright exposition how easily it is for a beautiful romantic world to come crashing down in the face of the sometimes unfortunate reality of the world in which we all live. Readers follow the revelations of an unnamed narrator in a bleak Irish..."

Tags:james, joyce, araby

Abstract
This book review describes the theme shared by both "Barn Burning" and "Araby" about the conflict between a protagonists' inner conceptions of what the external world should be like, and the actual reality of their respective circumstances. The review includes a plot summary of both novels, with a focus on the theme of inner conflict. The reviewer concludes that each of these stories tells the tale of a young boy being introduced to adulthood by having his innermost conceptions of truth coming into conflict with the very real circumstances of his life.

From the Paper
" In "Araby," the narrator becomes increasingly consumed by idealistic and romantic thoughts of Mangan's sister as the story progresses. There is a tumultuous mingling of the realities in the narrator's life, and the imaginary and exotic dreams that come to dominate his thoughts. Of course, this dangerous combination centers upon Mangan's sister; she represents both the exciting and the mundane. This is fundamentally because although she is a part of the ordinary atmosphere of northern Dublin, she remains something strange and somehow unattainable for the main character."

Tags:William, Faulkner, Barn, Burning, James, Joyce, Araby, internal, conflict

Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts James Joyce's short story "Araby" with Frank O'Connor's short story "First Confession," discussing the theme of religion and the differences in tone and meaning.

From the Paper
"James Joyce's short story "Araby" and Frank O'Connor's story "First Confession" both have a first-person narrator and both stories describe the author's coming of age as a young boy. The way the narrator in each story crafts the coming-of-age story is somewhat different, although there are also some similarities in approach. This paper will discuss each story individually and then conclude with a brief summary of the similarities and differences. "Araby" is a rather gloomy story in which the narrator describes his experience of..."

Tags:Araby, First Confession, James Joyce, Frank O'Connor, Irish, coming of age, boy, narrator, religion, religious, theme

Abstract
The paper offers an analysis of the use of color, light and dark in James Joyce's short story "Araby." The paper explains how the symbolism of color, light and dark leads to an understanding of the story.

From the Paper
"Colors are a form of non verbal communication and as such are symbolic. For example in Western culture white signifies purity and light while black signifies darkness, evil and death. In literature, symbolism joins the story's external action to the theme. This use of symbolism holds true in James Joyce's short story "Araby" where the use of color, particularly light and dark, contribute to the theme and understanding of the story."

Tags:Joyce, Story, Araby, Symbolism, Light, Dark, Theme, Epiphany

Abstract
This paper looks at James Joyce's short story "Araby" and focuses on the main character of an adolescent boy experiencing love and sexual desire for first time. It also examines symbolism, setting and the epiphany the boy undergoes at the story's end.

From the Paper
"Araby is one of the short stories that make up James Joyce's "Dubliners" and the story remains relevant outside of its time and place because of the universality of the main character a boy of about who is experiencing romantic love and sexual desire for the.."

Tags:Araby, Joyce, story, character, symbolism, setting, Epiphany

Abstract
The paper examines James Joyce's short story "Araby" and shows how Joyce describes the effect the Catholic Church had upon Ireland as well as how modern culture has destroyed the natural state of man. The paper analyzes how Joyce portrays Dublin as the ultimate symbol of a narrow, dogmatic society, and her citizens as the sad, polemic products of brown houses and a grey life. The paper emphasizes how Araby is the tale of disillusionment and of childhood ending too soon.

From the Paper
"James Joyce's short story collection, Dubliners, is not only a compilation of stories of the inhabitants of the Irish city--it is a statement about the futility of life. In Joyce's eyes, Dublin itself was the worst of Western culture; blind, anguished, narrow, and unwilling or unable to change its entrenched way of life. The story Araby is no exception; however, the narrator begins the story full of hope. The story ends, though, with the first major disillusionment of youth. The story is a diegesis--the beginning and end of youthful ambition."

Tags:Catholic, Church, Dublin, Ireland, disillusionment, youth

Abstract
The paper looks at James Joyce's short story "Araby" and Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and the important role of light and dark imagery in both texts. The paper shows how, while the authors of "Araby" and "Heart of Darkness" use this imagery to very different effects, in both works images of light and dark are central devices employed to convey meaning and illustrate themes.

From the Paper
"As the title of Conrad's novel would suggest, imagery of light and darkness is of great importance in this narrative. From the opening of the novel, the text and its characters seem to exist in a permanent twilight. The narrative of Heart of Darkness is a tale told by Marlow to a number of listeners aboard a boat on the river Thames around sunset: "The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back still seemed condensed in a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest, town on earth" (Conrad 7). The imagery of darkness is thus employed to establish a reflective mood from the outset of Conrad's narrative. Clearly, the imagery of twilight - at the close of the day, and when the promise of the day has been realized or not - is conducive to reflection."

Tags:twilight, civilization, ignorance, perception

Abstract
This paper explains that, through symbolism, Joyce conveys central themes of symbolic blindness, escapism, and a lack of identity. The opening line of the tale describes North Richmond Street as "being blind," as if the street itself has the potential to see itself and its residents. The author points out that death and religion are closely linked in "Araby"; religion is portrayed as a form of escapism, as a link to another world. The paper relates that, in "Araby," which is filled with imagery related to sight and eyes, the narrator sees more with his inner eye, the eye of his dreams and imagination, than he does with his real eyes; thus, he is blind to the present moment and sees only what he wants to see until the end of the tale, when his narcissism finally dawns on him.

From the Paper
"The dead priest and Mangan's sister both represent exoticism and esotericism. The priest is exotic because he is dead and because in his life he served as an intermediary between this world and the spiritual world. To the narrator, the priest must have been privy to wisdom and knowledge that the average person like him is not. Likewise, the narrator imagines that Mangan's sister is privy to esoteric wisdom. Her sexuality also represents this esoteric and mysterious wisdom. "Her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side," (30). Convey the connection between sexuality and esoterism, Joyce uses the motif of blindness as well as the central theme of escape: "The blind was pulled down to within an inch of the sash so that I could not be seen." Here, Joyce also includes a double entendre, which is often used in conjunction with sexual innuendo."

Tags:narrator, symbolism, religion, eye, narcissism

Abstract
This paper reviews the short story, "Araby" written James Joyce. The paper presents a critical examination of women, Catholicism and Irish national identity through a discussion of Joyce's short story "Araby". The paper highlights scenes from the story of the young man's experiences at the fair, relating to Lady Madonna, Lady Love and Lady Ireland.

From the Paper
"In James Joyce's short story "Araby," the male narrator's coming-of-age is transposed against a tale of an innocent woman's supposed falling from grace, in the eyes of the young man. The young man promises to go to a fair called Araby. The name "Araby" was often thought to comprise the fictional or romanticized version of Arabia or Arab world, such as in the then-popular song "The Sheik of Araby." ("Araby, 2005) The young man promises to bring the young woman something from the far-off and exotic fair. However, when the young man goes to the fair and sees what goes on there between English men and women in the foreign and carnival context, his pure image of the woman is broken and destroyed. This fall from grace not only parallels the Original Sin narrative of Genesis, where the woman's sin causes her husband to be cast from the garden, and the broken quest for the Holy Grail, where purity and the real world cannot co-exist. "

Tags:women, catholicism, ireland