Araby Context
In Heyward Ehrlich’s “‘Araby’ in Context”, he claims that James Joyce's short story "Araby" is not a tale of an biological event of Joyce's life, but rather an array of three significant external contexts, "namely the historical, the literary, and the biographical" (Joyce 261). Ehrlich utilizes these contexts to establish that Joyce's objective was to create fictional identities. By first identifying the "Araby", Ehrlich illustrated the historical facts of the actual bazaar that came to Dublin in the 1890s, also mentioning that Joyce's story contrasted to the reality of what the bazaar entitled in entertainment. By omitting the true historic facts of the event, Ehrlich claims that Joyce therefore created a fictional identity for society. Following those remarks, Ehrlich continues his argument with describing "Araby" as it also "evokes the distinctive version of Irish
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Orientalism that looked to the East for the highest sources of national identity" (262). By this, Ehrlich means that as the young man in the story turned his attention to the foreign others of the bazaar, it exemplified the way the Irish were turning to outside influences for language, alphabet, and culture in the literary. The last context that Ehrlich addresses is the biographical information of James Clarence Mangan, who was of great influence to Joyce in his writings and discoveries of the Irish Orientalism. Moreover, Ehrlich claims that Joyce wrote "Araby" in the light of Mangan's life. Therefore, his overarching claim is that Joyce utilized these three contexts to spark spiritual freedom among the Irish by creating fictional identities. Ehrlich's rhetorical moves mostly include his large use of historical information about the real Araby bazaar and Irish Orientalism as well as biographical information about James Clarence Mangan. However, he also uses intertextual references from Joyce’s other stories to convey the importance of the Irish context in "Araby". Ehrlich spends a majority of his analysis
Noring 2 arguing that the real Araby was much more spectacular than Joyce’s fictional representation because it shows the impact of the event in the story compared to reality.
He also utilizes an effective method of stating Mangan’s biographical information side by side with the main plot points of Araby to display the influence that Mangan truly had on Joyce. Moreover, as he also concentrates on the external literary influences of Irish Orientalism in Moore's Lalla Rookh it is plain how it influenced several parts of Joyce’s "Araby." The final implication of Ehrlich argument is where he makes the claim that by rejecting history, Joyce is taking reality and twisting it to make a fictional identity. Furthermore, he argues that Joyce uses unrealities because he wants to "spiritually liberate” his country. He notes that Joyce that there is much doubt to reassure readers that any of these contexts establish evidence that reflects a biography of Joyce's younger life. Ehrlich in fact concludes his argument wit stating that to this extent, "Araby" seems just another fictional identity Joyce
created. I agree that Joyce was promoting a fictional identity for the boy in his story. However, I disagree that it was to represent an identity of that of historical context, literary context, or any other biological context other than Joyce. I feel that the circumstances described in the story most fit that directly of James Joyce. Although it is against Ehrlich's evidence, I believe Joyce is telling a story from his past childhood in Dublin as it is recreated with the fictional identity and slight alterations. I feel that Ehrlich rejects this proposal because his evidence relies more on historical references than that of a close reading of the story. He is very effective at utilizing those references to make valid statements; I simply feel that it would be more effective if he had taken a stance from how Joyce approached the tale rather than the external contexts. I feel that by the end of the story, and as the boy is still searching for something grander than what he has, Joyce was delivering many messages to be interpreted but Ehrlich failed to deliver any answers to them.
Orientalism that looked to the East for the highest sources of national identity" (262). By this, Ehrlich means that as the young man in the story turned his attention to the foreign others of the bazaar, it exemplified the way the Irish were turning to outside influences for language, alphabet, and culture in the literary. The last context that Ehrlich addresses is the biographical information of James Clarence Mangan, who was of great influence to Joyce in his writings and discoveries of the Irish Orientalism. Moreover, Ehrlich claims that Joyce wrote "Araby" in the light of Mangan's life. Therefore, his overarching claim is that Joyce utilized these three contexts to spark spiritual freedom among the Irish by creating fictional identities. Ehrlich's rhetorical moves mostly include his large use of historical information about the real Araby bazaar and Irish Orientalism as well as biographical information about James Clarence Mangan. However, he also uses intertextual references from Joyce’s other stories to convey the importance of the Irish context in "Araby". Ehrlich spends a majority of his analysis
Noring 2 arguing that the real Araby was much more spectacular than Joyce’s fictional representation because it shows the impact of the event in the story compared to reality.
He also utilizes an effective method of stating Mangan’s biographical information side by side with the main plot points of Araby to display the influence that Mangan truly had on Joyce. Moreover, as he also concentrates on the external literary influences of Irish Orientalism in Moore's Lalla Rookh it is plain how it influenced several parts of Joyce’s "Araby." The final implication of Ehrlich argument is where he makes the claim that by rejecting history, Joyce is taking reality and twisting it to make a fictional identity. Furthermore, he argues that Joyce uses unrealities because he wants to "spiritually liberate” his country. He notes that Joyce that there is much doubt to reassure readers that any of these contexts establish evidence that reflects a biography of Joyce's younger life. Ehrlich in fact concludes his argument wit stating that to this extent, "Araby" seems just another fictional identity Joyce
created. I agree that Joyce was promoting a fictional identity for the boy in his story. However, I disagree that it was to represent an identity of that of historical context, literary context, or any other biological context other than Joyce. I feel that the circumstances described in the story most fit that directly of James Joyce. Although it is against Ehrlich's evidence, I believe Joyce is telling a story from his past childhood in Dublin as it is recreated with the fictional identity and slight alterations. I feel that Ehrlich rejects this proposal because his evidence relies more on historical references than that of a close reading of the story. He is very effective at utilizing those references to make valid statements; I simply feel that it would be more effective if he had taken a stance from how Joyce approached the tale rather than the external contexts. I feel that by the end of the story, and as the boy is still searching for something grander than what he has, Joyce was delivering many messages to be interpreted but Ehrlich failed to deliver any answers to them.