Diction In Araby

The transition between childhood and adulthood is a time in one’s life where new ideas, perspectives, and feelings emerge. James Joyce hones in on this period of life and coming of age in his short story “Araby” which follows a nameless narrator as he explores new experiences and feelings. Through imagery, diction, and syntax, Joyce develops the main character into a teenager who is ready for the next step in his life; he wants to leave his childhood in the past and embrace this newfound feeling of love that he is experiencing. Through imagery, Joyce develops the boy and the new feeling of love he is experiencing. The diction Joyce uses establishes a tone throughout the short story. The syntax Joyce includes reveals the boy’s true thoughts about the girl, thus developing his characterization farther. Joyce is able to capture the essence of the transition to adulthood with these three literary techniques.
A milestone in the life of all teenagers is the “first crush,” and Joyce uses imagery to depict the love this boy exhibits towards a girl. This boy is in love with his friend’s older sister. All the young boy does is think about the girl he is infatuated by; “at night in my bedroom and by day in the classroom her image came between me and the page I strove to read.” The
Joyce, in the short story, concentrates on coming of age, and how teenagers are in this awkward transition between becoming an adult. However, the boy in Joyce’s story has not finished the transition; he still remains naive and innocent, and is not quite living in the real world. The boy has this very extreme view of love and romance. While he loves this girl, is this love reciprocated in anyway. Through the boy, Joyce is able to highlight how a boy acts and thinks as he comes of