Araby and James Joyce
The short story “Araby” is clearly identifiable as the work of James Joyce. His vocalized ambition of acquainting fellow Irish natives with the true temperament of his homeland is apparent throughout the story. Joyce’s painstakingly precise writing style can be observed throughout “Araby” as well. Roman Catholicism, which played a heavy role in Joyce’s life, also does so in the story which is another aspect which makes Joyce’s authorship of the story unmistakable. As a result of Irish heritage displayed in “Araby” along with evidence of Joyce’s unmistakable writing style throughout and the role of Catholicism in the story, “Araby” is instantly recognizable as the work of James Joyce.
In his writing of Dubliners as a whole James Joyce hoped to familiarize fellow Irish natives with Ireland’s true nature. In his article “James Joyce” Paul Gray quotes Joyce as having said, “One of the things I could never get used to in my youth was the difference I found between life and literature,” so one of his ambitions was to erase this contrast (Gray 1). One of Joyce’s attempts at fulfilling this goal can be observed at the melancholy ending of “Araby” where after his fruitlessly covetous quest for ‘Mangan’s sister’ the narrator laments, “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity,” (Joyce 886). In a similar context as that of Gray’s article Joyce is quoted in a book, James Joyce Remembered, by C.P. Curran who was an acquaintance of Joyce’s, specifically about the purpose of his collection of stories Dubliners, of which “Araby” is a part, as saying, “I call the series Dubliners to betray the soul of that hemiplegia or paralysis which many consider a city,” (9). In John Diconsiglio’s article “Call it James Joyce’s Revenge” Joyce is quoted on the purpose of Dubliners yet again in the third paragraph which states, “Joyce wrote that it was written so that the Irish could have ‘one good look at themselves in my nicely polished looking glass,”
In his writing of Dubliners as a whole James Joyce hoped to familiarize fellow Irish natives with Ireland’s true nature. In his article “James Joyce” Paul Gray quotes Joyce as having said, “One of the things I could never get used to in my youth was the difference I found between life and literature,” so one of his ambitions was to erase this contrast (Gray 1). One of Joyce’s attempts at fulfilling this goal can be observed at the melancholy ending of “Araby” where after his fruitlessly covetous quest for ‘Mangan’s sister’ the narrator laments, “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity,” (Joyce 886). In a similar context as that of Gray’s article Joyce is quoted in a book, James Joyce Remembered, by C.P. Curran who was an acquaintance of Joyce’s, specifically about the purpose of his collection of stories Dubliners, of which “Araby” is a part, as saying, “I call the series Dubliners to betray the soul of that hemiplegia or paralysis which many consider a city,” (9). In John Diconsiglio’s article “Call it James Joyce’s Revenge” Joyce is quoted on the purpose of Dubliners yet again in the third paragraph which states, “Joyce wrote that it was written so that the Irish could have ‘one good look at themselves in my nicely polished looking glass,”
Cited: >Curran, C.P. James Joyce Remembered. New York, Oxford University Press, 1968. MLA bibliography database. Galileo. 24 March 2008. >Joyce, James. “Araby.” Ed. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, William E. Cain. Pearson/Longman, 2007. 882-886 >Kaplan, Robert >Magalaner, Marvin. A James Joyce Miscellany, second series. Carbondale, Southern Illinois University, 1959. MLA bibliography database. Galileo. 24 March 2008. >O 'Brien, George. "James Joyce." Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Salem Press, Inc. 2001. MLA bibliography database. Galileo. 27 March 2008. >Prescott, Joseph. Exploring James Joyce. Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press, 1964. MLA bibliography database. Galileo. 24 March 2008.