A&P vs. Araby
A&P vs. Araby John Updike’s A&P and James Joyce’s Araby are very similar yet very different in many ways. Each short story has a normal kid with an obsession over a girl. The big difference between Sammy in A&P and Jimmy in Araby is just that they were raised differently and have different values. The way Jimmy talks about his fantasy girl is on a more religious level while Sammy in other words is kind of impolite about how he describes the three girls that walk into the market. From the narrator’s point of view in each story to the use of imagery and the main characters motivation, each story has multiple points of comparison to compare and contrast.
From the narrator’s point of view in the short story A&P, it’s told from the actual kid’s point of view, being a teenager. While in Araby the character is younger, probably around 12 but the narrator that is explaining the story is describing everything from an adult standpoint. When Sammy is describing the three girls the language he uses is that of a teenager. “There was this chunky one, with the two-piece,” (page 592). This is just one of many vague descriptions he uses on the girls that shows his immaturity as a teenager. Jimmy on the other hand described his so called fantasy girl in great detail mainly because even though he is younger the narrator is an adult. Although both stories are put together and worded differently the narrator’s both had the same purpose, to explain a young adults/kids love for another girl.
The use of imagery in Araby is a lot more intricate than the imagery in A&P. When Jimmy describes Mangen’s sister he says, “Her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side,” (page 328). Sammy’s description of one of the girls is, “She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it,” (page 591). The way that Sammy describes the girls is a lot cruder than the way Jimmy
From the narrator’s point of view in the short story A&P, it’s told from the actual kid’s point of view, being a teenager. While in Araby the character is younger, probably around 12 but the narrator that is explaining the story is describing everything from an adult standpoint. When Sammy is describing the three girls the language he uses is that of a teenager. “There was this chunky one, with the two-piece,” (page 592). This is just one of many vague descriptions he uses on the girls that shows his immaturity as a teenager. Jimmy on the other hand described his so called fantasy girl in great detail mainly because even though he is younger the narrator is an adult. Although both stories are put together and worded differently the narrator’s both had the same purpose, to explain a young adults/kids love for another girl.
The use of imagery in Araby is a lot more intricate than the imagery in A&P. When Jimmy describes Mangen’s sister he says, “Her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side,” (page 328). Sammy’s description of one of the girls is, “She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it,” (page 591). The way that Sammy describes the girls is a lot cruder than the way Jimmy