Jane Hung Mr. Smyrk AP Literature Period 6 13 October 2011 Araby: Questions for Discussion 1. Why does the narrator want to go to the bazaar? The narrator wants to go to the bazaar in order to buy a gift for Mangan’s sister. In buying Mangan’s sister a treasured trinket at Araby, the narrator would be satisfying his desire to please his beloved. He feels that to match up to the standards of such a girl as Mangan’s sister sister he must be extraordinary. Indeed, the bazaar denotes a certain exoticism and intrigue because it is a stark contrast to the somber houses and “u gly monotonous child’s play” of North Richmond Street. The only light the narrator perceives in the commonalty that is North Richmond Street is Mangan’s sister; perhaps by attending Araby, the nar rator rator would have both the love of Mangan’s striking sister and an escape from this ordinary life. 2. Why does he arrive so late? The narrator arrives so late because he had to wait until his uncle arrived home. Unfortunately, the narrator’s uncle had forgotten forgotten that the boy had wanted to go to the bazaar and, perhaps, had gotten drunk instead. The narrator needed his uncle to provide financial assistance for train fare and for spending money. This aspect of the story details the frustration and exasperation that the narrator has for common Irish life. His uncle seems callous and insensitive to the desires of the boy. Indeed, this man had easily forgotten about the th e boy’s desire to go to the bed and after their first bazaar even after constant reminders; his assertion, “the people are in bed sleep now,” also details the uncle’s apathetic vie ws towards the boy’s prompt to still attend
Araby. Men like the narrator’s uncle may be an example of other Irish men; such distance from passion and pleasure may drive the narrator to seek another mode of existence. Furthermore, the train to his freedom only began the journey after an intolerable delay, which perhaps signals the inevitable complexities in attempting to reach an elated existence. 3. What doesn’t he buy anything for Mangan’s sister? The narrator does not buy anything for Mangan’s sister because he arrives at Araby as many stalls were closing. The products sold at the bazaar were also ridiculously priced, and “the greater part of the hall was in darkness,” which points to the fruitlessness of his journey to what he hoped to be a magical state. Since the narrator seems to be in a state of poverty (“two pennies…against the sixpence in my pocket”), he does not seem able to afford this life of luxury or perhaps this life of luxury is simply a figment of the narrator’s imagination. Although the narrator believed that he could gain the love of Mangan’s sister by buying her expensive, exotic gifts, he finally understands that happiness cannot be bought and maybe nothing would have changed if the narrator had returned with a gift. To this end, perhaps the reality is not nearly as satisfying and magical as he hoped and expected. 4. Enumerate the activities taking place at Araby. To what exte nt do they sustain its “magical name”? The train ride first enumerates the magic of Araby; indeed, this “special train for the bazaar” “crept onward among ruinous house and over the twinkling river.” Here we see that the narrator believes that his journey will take him to a final state of happiness and contentment especially as he perceives Araby to be the stark contrast to his dull, monotonous existence. This train is meant to leave all the ordinary behind and traverse towards the remarkable. Another aspect of Araby’s magic is the semblance of color , patterns, and size. The narrator sees “the
words Café Chantant…written in coloured lamps,” “porcelain [vases,] and flowered tea sets,” all of which are perhaps attributes to an exciting and exhilarating life. This display of color and pattern opens the eyes of a boy raised on “blind” North Richmond Street. The “great jars that stood like eastern guards at either side of the d ark entrance to the stall” illustrates a forbidden majesty that may seem grand but is, in actuality, a testament to the dark nature of any path of life. 5. What had the narrator expected to find at Araby? What was the basis of his expectation? The narrator had expected to find an exhilarating display of exoticism and magic; he imagined that Araby, as “an Eastern enchantment,” would be the answer to “ugly monotonous child’s play.” The basis of his expectation was perhaps to the acclaim of Mangan’s sister; the narrator’s infatuation with her may have exaggerated the credibility of Mangan’s sister’s preferences. The narrator also sought a romantic escape from his current dreary existence and overemphasized the brilliance of another culture. 6. Define the narrator’s feelings for Mangan’s sister. To what extent is she the cause of those feelings? What, as they say, does he see in her? The narrator’s feelings for Mangan’s sister are described as those of “confused adoration” and the result of her exoticism in his plain Irish life. Indeed, he “kept her brown figure always in [his] eye,” which is a testament to his obsession with a world other than his own. Mangan’s sister may have encouraged these feelings by not refusing a gift from the bazaar; by doing so, she wants the narrator to go pursuing this impossible dream and revels in his futile chase of her attention. The narrator sees in Mangan’s sister a light that “lit up her hair that rested [on the white curve of her neck], and falling, lit up the hand upon the railing.” This light verily
elucidates the narrator’s obsession with a life outside of Ireland and of the monotony; she reminds him that his life does not have to follow this ordinary path. 7. What purpose might Joyce have had in choosing not to mention the object of the narrator’s affections until the middle of the third paragraph? Describe the context into which she is introduced. In what ways is she part of the world of North Richmond Street? Joyce may have delayed the introduction of Mangan’s sister in the story because he wants to establish the setting of North Richmond Street. In the n arrator’s hometown, life is full of “ugly monotonous child’s play” and “uninhabited house[s] of two storeys [that] stood at the blind end, detached from…neighbors.” Joyce next illuminates the dark, somber streets during winter with the presence of Mangan’s sister, “her figure defined by the light from the half -opened door.” As such, her appearance is the source of light for the narrator in his current neighborhood in Ireland. Mangan’s sister is introduced as an authority figure entreating her brother to quit his folly and come home. In such a way, she may be a symbol of reality because her presence puts an end to dreaming; perhaps this very fact encourages the narrator to pursue the light source as he correlates achievable reality to Mangan’s sister. Here we can also attribute her representation of reality in connection to the world of North Richmond Street. Joyce does not depict her in light of any extraordinary gifts, talents, or beauty; in fact, her only source of illumination seems to come from her enviro nment (e.g. “light from the half-opened door,” “light from the lamp opposite our door”). We can thus assume that in any other person’s eyes, Mangan’s sister is simply ordinary especially since her onl y title is Mangan’s sister rather than an actual name. 8. What is the role of the narrator’s uncle in the story? What values and attitudes does he represent? Are they preferable to those of the narrator?
The role of the narrator’s uncle is to provide a sense of adult Irishmen, the very people that the narrator believes are callous and unexciting. The narrator’s uncle provides money and, thus, the means for which the narrator is to accomplish his journey. However, this dependence on someone else’s pocket irritates the narrator because he sees it as something he cannot control and a hindrance to his dreams. The narrator’s uncle furnishes values and attitudes of insensitivity especially since he ignores his nephew’s constant reminders of going to Arab y and then attempts to dissuade him from leaving so late after be ing reminded. Obviously, the narrator’s uncle does not hold favorable the childish dreams and desires of his nephew but instead drowns his mind with alcohol. These attitudes are not favorable to the nephew because he believes they impede on the success of his dreams. 9. Find patterns in the story that shows relevance to “light,” “vision,” and “beauty.” “Light,” “vision,” and “beauty” are all utilized within the text to conceptualize the narrator’s dreams of escape from Irish culture. The narrator sees “light” in Mangan’s sister and thus verily believes that he is enamored with her especially since she is a stark contrast to the darkness of North Richmond Street. Indeed, the narrator finds that his chase of the appearance of idealism results in self-reflection “as a creature driven and derided by vanity.” Yes, the narrator traverses towards escape with a perception of what is beautiful, exotic, and different. His idealistic visions exaggerated the wonders of what is to be found at Araby; indeed, this new world is no different from the one he left. 10. What is the search for the Holy Grail and how is it like the story? The search for the Holy Grail is the search for God’s grace; like the narrator’s search for escape, the journey provides a means to which one can develop into a mature intellectual, weary
of the world’s promises, yet aware that there is magic everywhere. For the narrator, the journey for his Holy Grail sanctioned a new realization of his own naivety; yes, there is no easy escape away from what he believes is a forsaken lifestyle. As the narrator realizes that his search is futile, he uncovers, with anger and despair, the darkness of the world and the vanity of his journey. Just like those searching for the Holy Grail, the narrator has reflected upon his failed journey. Perhaps in doing so, the narrator may have realized bits of his former life were not entirely dreadful; he has companions and an education, all of which can get him farther than chasing nonsensical dreams. 11. Make two lists: 1) record ideas, images, and allusions that suggest contexts remote from the immediate situation, jotting down associations that they bring to mind; 2) note anything mentioned in the story with which you are unfamiliar. Look some of these items up. The narrator “remarked [the] English accents” of the young lady and the two gentlemen, bringing to mind the domination of the Irish people by their English brethren. The mention of the “Christian Brothers’ School set[ting] the boys free” perhaps indicates the supreme control of Catholicism over Irish culture. The narrator’s preference for The Memoirs of Vidocq over the other two books may indicate the narrator’s proclivity towards science and logic rather than the realm of religion. Furthermore, the narrator’s depiction of the “central apple-tree and a few straggling bushes” in the “wild garden behind the house” perhaps suggests that the strong stance of the English government deprives those under it of vital nutrients . The nod to O’Donovan Rossa may also be in characterization of the extreme nationalism of the Irish people. Indeed, the Araby bazaar is suggestive of the grandeur of the Arab merchants that the narrator wishes to achieve.
