Araby by James Joyce

James Joyce’s short story, Araby, attracted me much more than some of the other poems that we have read so far.  This is probably due to the fact that it is a short story rather than a poem which to me makes it seem easier to read and analyze.  Immediately from reading the title I expected the piece to have a Middle Eastern flair.  I was wrong though when the first three words were “North Richmond Street…” followed later in the sentence by “…Christian Brothers’ School…”  Those six words clearly stated that this story was not based in the Middle East but the United Kingdom, specifically Dublin. 

The young boy in the story, who was never formally introduced, reminded me of any young boy going through his first crush.  Even though it was 1914, the actions and thoughts of the boy immolate children of 2010.  The boy’s crush, who is his friend’s older sister, was constantly on his mind, “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand.”  He also would lie on the floor of their front door so that he could watch her house, wishing to see her.  All this reminded me of was my dog sitting at our living room window waiting for us to come home.  The young boy has simply become infatuated with her, the definition of “puppy love”.  In 1914 the young boy would silently wait at his front door to see his crush, but in 2010 the young boy probably would have hopped on Facebook to look at her latest status update.  Even though the times have changed, love is still the same.

The idea of the boy going to the bazaar to pick up a date for his crush sounds all too familiar.  He simply wants to get her something that every time she uses it, picks it up, or looks at it, it would remind her of him.  When the boy plans on visiting the bazaar, his whole day seems like it drags and is unimportant.  This part of the story is extremely easy to relate to.  Whenever I have something that I am looking forward planned, the day always seems to move in slow motion, food tastes bland, classes are more boring than usual, and minutes pass by at a snail’s pace.  Your whole thought process is based upon this anticipated plan.  The poor boy had to wait till 9 o’clock to go to the bazaar, no wonder he only heard two lines of his uncle’s poem recitation!  When he gets to the bazaar, my heart melted for him, all this boy wanted to do was get something magical, something that made him stand out from everyone else.  Yet, he was disappointed to find typical vases and flowered tea-sets.  This happens so often today, people spend hours shopping in malls or online trying to find the perfect gift for their loved one, only to return unhappy with what they saw just like the young boy.  What this short story shows is that love is the same in any decade.