Araby, By James Joyce

The short story Araby, by James Joyce revolves around the actions of and unidentified boy in North Dublin living with his aunt and uncle on a “blind” street. As the story develops, the boy falls in love with his friend, Mangan’s sister. James Joyce uses symbolism to drive the plot forward. The boy’s love, and separation form the world causes massive emotion. The boy explains, “my eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom.” The revealing of a flood coming form the boys heart, shows that large amount of emotional sorrow coming from his heart. The water watering his blossom symbolizes his difficult stages developing him mentally. Another visual is developed through the boy physically growing. When the boy narrates, “When he was midway through his dinner I asked him to give me the money to go to the bazaar,” again symbolism is exemplified. The anonymous boy is leaving
The setting of the story makes it possible for the reader to understand how the characters are being blocked. The author mentions that the unidentified boy lives with his aunt and uncle in the cul-de-sac, a dead end. People, due the scary and interactive atmosphere, avoid going into a dead end. Similarly, the narrator shows how his house was like, saying, “It was a dark rainy evening and there was no sound in the house.” The dark soundless environment in his house creates a dark and sad allusion. Moving on, negative emotions of the boy are created because of walls between Magana’s sister and himself. He clarifies, “Every morning I lay on the floor in the front parlour watching her door.” It is shown that, because of lack of communication between the boy and girl, the boy feels isolated sensations. Hence, all sensations of emotions are emphasized through the setting and lack of interactions between