Araby by James Joyce

This week, we were able to discuss Araby in class. It was a wonderfully-written story by James Joyce which is about a boy and his intense crush over his neighbour's sister. Said sister mentioned something about a bazaar and the boy, overwhelmed with desire, sets out to go to that bazaar and to get her something. The short story is about the boy's realisations.

One thing I would like to take into notice is the boy's way of noticing things around him that somehow connects to her. Like when he describes the neighbourhood, it connects to his crush. When he also describes his journey to the bazaar, the late train coming and him going to the bazaar seems not in time. The boy realizes how stupid he was for going into the bazaar when the girl just used him so she can get something. Second, how the story is not a love story, rather that it is a coming-of-age story. It is a coming of age story because the boy realizes how the girl does not like him the same way as he does. He even realizes how vain and shallow he was in the end, symbolized by the lights turning completely off in the bazaar.