Appreciation of the story Araby by Zhang Yunyan, Zhu Jing

I watched my master's face pass from amiability to sternness; he hoped I was not beginning to idle. I could not call my wandering thoughts together. I had hardly any patience with the serious work of life which, now that it stood between me and my desire, seemed to me child's play, ugly monotonous child's play

Plot A young boy living with his aunt and uncle in a dark, untidy home in Dublin that was once the residence of a priest The boy is in love with his friend's older sister, never having the courage to talk to her. Finally she speaks to him, asking him if he is going to attend a visiting bazaar,--“Araby.” where she cannot attend, he offers to bring her something from the bazaar. On the night he is to attend, his uncle is late coming home from work.

Plot when he makes his way to the bazaar, most of the people have left and many of the stalls are closed. As he looks for something to buy, he overhears a banal young salesgirl flirt with two young men. When the disinterested salesgirl asks him if he needs help, he declines, and he walks through the dark, empty halls, disillusioned with himself and the world around him.

General introduction It’s the 3rd story in Dubliners published in 1914 The major use of epiphany (a sudden revelation of truth about life inspired by a seemingly trivial incident ) Critical interest in the story has remained intense in recent decades

Setting and atmosphere The boy in the story "Araby" is intensely subject to the city's dark, hopeless conformity, and his tragic yearning toward the exotic in the face of drab, ugly reality forms the center of the story. Richmond Street presents the reader with his first view of the boy's world. The street is "blind"; it is a dead end, the houses reflect the attitudes of their inhabitants--"imperturbable" in the "quiet," the "cold," the "dark muddy lanes" and "dark dripping gardens."

Setting and atmosphere The people who live there are falsely pious and discreetly but deeply self-satisfied. A gap in the spirit, in empathy and conscious caring, blind to higher values Stagnation and isolation.

Symbols in the story Blind (The North Richard Street was “blind”, and “I” used a blind to hide myself from being seen by Mangan’s sister. ) Mangan’s sister The North Richmond Street Araby The priest

Theme Young boy recognizes the vanity and falsity of ideal, romantic love. It has also been interpreted as a story about a boy's growing alienation with his family, religion, and the world around him. Moreover, it is viewed as autobiographical, reflecting Joyce's own disillusionment with religion and love

Other topics The ironic narrator of Araby Point of view

References 1] ：邓绪新，英语文学概论，武汉：武汉大学出版社， 2002 P [ [5] ：李漫萍，《寓意隽永的象征 — 试论乔伊斯短篇小说的象征艺术 》，广东教育学院学报， P27-31 ： 2002 年 11 月 Conboy, Sheila C. “Exhibition and Inhibition: The Body Scene in Dubliners.” Twentieth Century Literature (Winter 1991): JSTOR. Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, NY. March 4, French, Marilyn. “Missing Pieces in Joyce’s Dubliners. Twentieth Century Literature (Winter 1978): JSTOR. Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, NY. March 3, Mandel, Jerome. “The Structure of ‘Araby.’” Modern Language Studies (Autumn 1985): JSTOR. Borough of Manhattan Community College, New York, NY. March 4,