James Joyce's Use Of Annotation In Araby

In the short story “Araby” by James Joyce, adoration appears not only in religion but also in a young boy’s romantic fantasy toward an older girl. The setting of the story being Ireland brings the assumption forth that the narrator practices Catholicism. This idea furthers itself when “the space of the sky above us was the color ever-changing violet and towards it the lamps of the street lifted their feeble lanterns.” The personification of the feeble lamps lifting their lanterns towards the sky presents an image of adoration. This adoration parallels and personifies that of followers of God. The lanterns like the followers of God look upwards toward God for guidance. In addition, the vivid imagery serves as a raising up or placing on a pedestal
God. By doing this the followers present God as a powerful being, very much so in comparison to them. This couples with the use of “feeble” shows the weakness of the followers. However, the boy confuses adoration romantically as well as religiously. “If I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration” said the boy. The motif of confusion appears in this passage, for the boy lacks the maturity to understand love. Additionally, the idea that the boy confuses religious and romantic adoration becomes apparent. The boy want to give this girl everything but cannot get her to love him like he loves her. In addition, the boy describes her in an almost angelic manner. Thus furthering the confusion between the types of adoration. Yet near the end the boy has an epiphany in which he realizes all his attempts to get the girl to love him would result in failure. The boy matures and realizes that life and love are like this. He learns though maturity what every boy must learn in the life that sometimes no matter what failure occurs.