Araby
LeBla
George Gibson
English 102
11 November 2013
The Road to Araby James Joyce’s “Araby” is a short story of a nameless boy in Dublin who has a typical crush on his friend Mangan’s sister, and because of it, journeys to a bazaar called Araby, where he finally comes to a realization about his immature actions. This is the basis for the entire story, but the ideas Joyce presents with this story revolve around how the boy reacts to these feelings, and ultimately how he realizes his tragedy. Joyce spends some of the story introducing the boy’s thoughts on the area in which he lives, and similarly how he feels about the life he has lived thus far. Joyce builds up the boy’s dislike for the simple aspects of his daily life, and how he feels bored with where he lives and what he does. Then Joyce shows us what excites the boy; the girl with whom he is obsessed. The key to his crush is in what it makes the boy do, and how it forces him to act without thinking. The author of “Araby”, James Joyce, is known for using mythic structures in his work. One of these mythic structures is known as a Monomyth. In a Monomyth, the hero begins in LeBlanc 2 the ordinary world, and receives a call to enter a new unfamiliar world. The hero who accepts the call to enter this strange world must face obstacles, either alone or with help. If the hero survives the obstacles, he may achieve a great gift. The hero must then decide whether to return to the ordinary world with this gift, or remain in the mythical world. If the hero does decide to return, he or she often faces challenges on the return journey. If the hero returns
George Gibson
English 102
11 November 2013
The Road to Araby James Joyce’s “Araby” is a short story of a nameless boy in Dublin who has a typical crush on his friend Mangan’s sister, and because of it, journeys to a bazaar called Araby, where he finally comes to a realization about his immature actions. This is the basis for the entire story, but the ideas Joyce presents with this story revolve around how the boy reacts to these feelings, and ultimately how he realizes his tragedy. Joyce spends some of the story introducing the boy’s thoughts on the area in which he lives, and similarly how he feels about the life he has lived thus far. Joyce builds up the boy’s dislike for the simple aspects of his daily life, and how he feels bored with where he lives and what he does. Then Joyce shows us what excites the boy; the girl with whom he is obsessed. The key to his crush is in what it makes the boy do, and how it forces him to act without thinking. The author of “Araby”, James Joyce, is known for using mythic structures in his work. One of these mythic structures is known as a Monomyth. In a Monomyth, the hero begins in LeBlanc 2 the ordinary world, and receives a call to enter a new unfamiliar world. The hero who accepts the call to enter this strange world must face obstacles, either alone or with help. If the hero survives the obstacles, he may achieve a great gift. The hero must then decide whether to return to the ordinary world with this gift, or remain in the mythical world. If the hero does decide to return, he or she often faces challenges on the return journey. If the hero returns
Cited: Joyce,James.“Araby”. The Portable James Joyce. Ed. Harry Levin. New York: Viking Press, 1947. 39-45. Print. “Monomyth.” Wikipedia.Wikimedia, Nid. Web. 20 Oct. 2013 Vogler, Christopher. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structures for the Writers. Santa Cruz: Michael Wise Productions, 1988. Print.