ARABY

Written by: James Joyce

JAMES JOYCE
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish
novelist, short story writer, and a poet. Joyce
was born on 2 February 1882 in 41 Brighton
Square, Rathgar, Dublin. He was the eldest of
ten surviving children. Two of his siblings died
of Typhoid.
Joyce family suffers financial problems which
caused them to move frequently, each time to a
poorer and shabbier section of the city.
In 1902, Joyce graduated from University
College in Dublin, where he first began to write
fiction.
JAMES JOYCE
Writing, however, was not the only interest
that he pursued. A fine singer, Joyce
considered a musical career as a young man.
During his lifetime, he tried his hand at
various other jobs and enterprises, including
teaching, banking and the movie-theater
business.
In year 1904, he met Nora Barnacle from
Galway city working as a chambermaid, a few
months later they left Ireland together. Later
that year, Nora gave birth to their first child
JAMES JOYCE
In 1914, Dubliners was published, a volume of short stories
based on his childhood experiences. A notable feature of the
stories in the collection is what Joyce called an epiphany an
ordinary moment or situation in which an important truth
about a characters life is suddenly revealed. Araby is among
the collections best-known stories. Two years after, Joyce
published his first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Man.
Joyce faced serious problems with his vision and suffered
periods of temporary blindness. While working on his last
novel, Finnegans Wake (1939), he occasionally forced to write
in crayon on large sheets of paper in order to see his work.
 STORY OF
CHARACTERS:

ARABY
Male narratorThe narrator is an
adolescent boy who is also the storys
protagonist. He seems to be experiencing
the joys and misfortunes of young love.
When he doesnt get what he desires
(buying a gift for the girl), he becomes
angeredshowing his frustrations with
love and desire.
 STORY OF
CHARACTERS:

ARABY
Mangans sisterThe girl who the
narrator develops a crush on. She brings
hope for the boy in his pursuit of his
desire for her.
Narrators aunt and uncleNot too
much is told about the narrators aunt and
uncle. They are flat characters. It is
implied that his uncle is a drunk, which is
why the boy had to go to the bazaar late.
His aunt is very idle and doesnt bring
 STORY
SETTINGS:
OF
ARABY
North
Bazaar
Richmond Street

POINT OF VIEW:
First Person is used as the
point of view.
 STORY OF
SUMMARY:

ARABY
A young boy (whose name is never
mentioned) develops a crush on his friends
sister. He becomes so infatuated with the
girl that he begins to watch her every
move, even though the two have never
spoken. One day, the girl finally speaks to
the boy and asks him if he was going to a
marketplace called Araby, since she could
not attend. Furthermore, the boy decides
he would bring her something back in
hopes that it would spark a relationship
 STORY OF
SUMMARY:
The boy looks forward to the day of the

ARABY
bazaar that he could hardly concentrate on
anything else. When the day comes, the
boy arrives at the bazaar late at night due
to his drunken uncle coming home so late.
By the time he makes it to Araby, most of
the stalls were closed. Suddenly, he comes
upon a British stall that was still open, but
found the vendor to be rude. By then, most
of the bazaar was completely dark, and the
boy quickly filled with anguish and anger
 STORY OF
PLOT:

ARABY BEGINNING
At the North Richmond Street, the
Narrator meets Mangans Sister
and watching her every morning at
the front parlour, but never speaks
to her, except for few casual words.
 STORY OF
PLOT:

ARABY RISING ACTION

When Mangans Sister talked to the
Narrator, asking him if he is going
to Araby, and the narrator said that
he would bring something for her if
he went.
 STORY OF
PLOT:

ARABY CLIMAX
It is when the Narrators uncle
came home at nine oclock, and he
went to the station going to Bazaar.
And when reached the bazaar, it is
almost closed and greater of the
hall was in darkness.
 STORY OF
PLOT:

ARABY
FALLING ACTION
A young lady at a opened stall,
laughing with two young gentleman
asked the boy what he wished to
buy but the Narrator declines. HE
walked down in the middle of the
bazaar until the light was out and
completely dark.
 STORY OF
PLOT:

ARABY RESOLUTION
The Narrator saw himself as a
creature driven and derided by
vanity; and his eyes burned with
anguish and anger
 STORY OF
Themes of the Story

ARABY
Frustration of the Boy
Boy wants to impress the Girl
Things dont go well as expected.
 STORY OF
LESSON:

ARABY
The way things are not great
as we expect them to be.