Araby is a short story in a collection of fifteen
called Dubliners. It was written by James Joyce
between 1904 and 1907 but was not published until
1914. A young boy who describes his life on North
Richmond Street narrates it. He and his friends in
the Christian Brothers School play every evening
until their families call them in. Sometimes his
friend Mangans sister comes out to call Mangan in.
He feels very passionately drawn to her in some
way. One day she talks to him and asked him if he
is going to a bazaar called Araby.

A bazaar is a
fair or some kind of store where you can buy
certain goods. She really wanted to go with him to
the bazaar, but she couldnt because she had a
retreat in her convent school that night. A
convent school is a religious school. Even though
she cannot go he tells her he will bring her
something back if he does end up going. That night
he gets almost no sleep because he was thinking
about Mangans sister. He is thinking about the
possibilities of bringing something back for her
from the Araby bazaar.

The next day he asks his
aunt and uncle if he can go and they tell him its
ok to go. His uncle comes home late that night but
still lets him go to the bazaar and gives him some
money. He takes a train to the bazaar, but by the
time he gets there it is almost closing time, so
most of the stalls are empty. He then finds
himself in a porcelain stall where there is a
young English lady talking to two young men, but
he is unable to buy anything. The story ends with
the boy being very angry and distressed with not
being able to find anything to buy. The atmosphere
being set here by Joyce is that of an awakening in
a boys life.

This awakening is the attraction that
a boy acquires for a girl, both emotional and
physical. His feelings for Mangans sister are
almost uncontrollable. He cant do much except feel
and follow them. With these feelings he wants to
escape his household in search for independence,
to follow his feeling for Mangans sister into the
adult world. Going to the Araby bazaar in a way
represents independence and adulthood. But when he
gets there, he is unable to buy any of the vases
and bottles he sees.

The English men and women pay
almost no attention to him, and he feels out of
place while he is there. But what bothers him more
than anything else is the thought of returning to
Mangans sister empty-handed after promising her
that he would get her something at the bazaar.
Even though this was a relatively short story, it
is still filled with important information. Its
good to see a story about a boy moving out of
childhood and into adulthood. He obviously has a
lot of emotions running through his mid when he
talks to or thinks about Mangans sister. It is a
good story about a boy who is becoming mature and
getting to know who he really is..

Research essay sample on Critical Analysis Of Short Stories By James Joyce