Araby What You Pawn I Will Redeem

“Araby” is narrated by an unnamed boy in North Dublin who lives in the shadows to avoid contact with people, including his uncle, the sister of his friend Maingan, and his friends, while silently watching. Maingan is always on his mind and when he finally speaks to her he tells her he will bring something from the Araby, a bazaar, for her. Although he thinks about the Araby constantly he ends up getting to the Araby late because of his Uncle and buying nothing for Maingan. Similarly, the modernist short story, “What you Pawn I will Redeem,” is narrated by Jackson, a middle aged, homeless Indian man who lives in Seattle. He is a college dropout who finds his grandmother’s powwow-dance regalia in a pawn shop one day. Jackson believes his grandmother
The young boy finds this salvation through his own interpretation of ancient religious practices. Catholicism is an important part of his town - Mangan is in a convent, and his father grandmother reference religion often. Every day, the young boy hides in shadows watching his friend’s sister, Mangan. Although rarely speaking to her, he felts his heat race when he goes past her and thinks about her throughout his day. He describes the chaotic noise of his life converging to his thoughts of her: “Her name sprang to [his] lips at moments in strange prayer and praises which [he himself] did not understand” (217). Because the girl comes to him in times of prayer she forms his understanding of the text on an unconscious level. In this way, she helps him find meaning spiritually and takes form of a religious figure, a clear custom. The young boy finally speaks to Mangan briefly and tells her that he will get her something from the Araby because she is unable to go. Despite the boy’s fantasies about Mangan becoming more intense after this and his full concentration turning to the this day his uncle comes back late with the money he needs. He gets to Araby when few shops are open, feels unwelcome, and decides not to purchase anything as the other stores close. As he walks away he feels he is, “a creature driven and derided by vanity; and [his] eyes burned with anguish and anger” (221). The young boy believes that getting a token from the Araby will make the girl love him; by failing to do he has given up on that dream. Now that he has failed at embracing the girl and the tradition and salvation she represents he feels “derided by vanity.” Thus, by feeling the consequences of not embracing it, he realizes the importance of tradition. Jackson seeks salvation from his difficult reality through tradition. Even though Jackson realizes that he needs more than nine hundred