Araby, by James Joyce, is the story of a young boy from a humble background, experiencing the first flush of love. When the object of her affection, “Mangan’s sister” expresses her desire to go to Araby, and her inability to go there, he gallantly offers to get something for her. His feelings for “Mangan’s sister” and his desire to go to Araby for her sake form the core of the story.
The opening paragraphs tell us about the narrator’s background as it paints a dark and dreary picture of his neighborhood. The reference to the fact that the priest who lived in the house before them had left the furniture of the house to his sister, suggests that the family could have used the furniture had it been available. There are several other references to the humble background of the narrator as he talks about the neighborhood in which he played which had ‘dark dripping gardens” and “odors arose from ashpits”.
From here the narrative moves on to the narrator’s infatuation with “Mangan’s sister”. The narrator and his friends are young boys who still find enjoyment in playing around in the dirt and filth of the neighborhood and the harsh realities of life have still not touched them. But obviously, they are growing up and becoming aware of their surroundings as well as their sexuality. “Mangan’s sister” is probably the only girl with whom he had ever exchanged “a few casual words”. So, as the narrator is outgrowing his boyhood and entering his adolescence, it is natural that his first crush would be on the only girl who has as yet entered his consciousness. His various emotions and actions, like following her at a distance to imagining her in the weirdest of places, only further intensify his infatuation as he is unable to express his feelings. The boyishness of his emotions is betrayed when he resorts to prayer to get her to talk to him.
Mangan’s sister’s first interaction with the narrator introduces us to the bazaar called Araby. When she expresses her strong desire to go to the bazaar and her inability to go there, the narrator takes it upon himself to go there and buy a gift for her. The focus of the story now shifts to the narrator’s obsession with going to Araby. Here once again we see the boyishness of the narrator’s character. Until now we had seen his obsession with Mangan’s sister and how he could only think of her. But now this obsession and focus shift to Araby. This boyishness of the narrator must be noted since as the story progresses we see him getting disillusioned.
After the narrator had carefully planned his evening out to Araby, the delay in his uncle’s return from work temporarily brings uncertainty to his plans. However, his aunt allows him to go alone to Araby, even at the late hour. Until now, the narrator had a very exotic impression of Araby. The fact that his uncle is reminded of the poem “The Arab Farewell to his Steed” when the narrator mentions Araby, suggests that he thought that the bazaar was an Arab bazaar. Even the word “bazaar” is an Arab word and even the reader is misled into thinking that Araby is some kind of exotic marketplace. However, when he reaches the bazaar, he is disillusioned by what he sees. It is just an ordinary bazaar and a very expensive one at that. He has to pay a shilling just to get in and with what remains, he realizes that he cannot afford anything for Magnan’s sister. Thus the climax turns out to be an anti-climax, as the narrator’s dreams are blown away and he is reminded of his humble background.
This short story is told in the first person, entirely from the narrator’s point-of-view, hence we have a very limited understanding of the proceedings. A large part of the story is devoted to the narrator’s fantasies, first with “Magnan’s sister” and later with Araby. The narrative turns out to be a journey of self-discovery, as the young boy, probably for the first time, comes face to face with his financial standing and realizes the vanity of love.
Even though the narrator has to go to Araby to realize his financial realities, he was all along aware of it at some level. His preference for the book with “yellow leaves” and finding the “rusty bicycle-pump”, all point to his subconscious awareness of his family’s financial condition. Also, he does not have big dreams, his biggest wish is getting the love of his friend’s sister. He hopes to win this love through the simple gesture of buying her a gift from a bazaar where she wishes to go. His realization that even such simple pleasures are not from people coming from his socio-economic background is the crux of the story. This simple tale tells the readers about the harsh lives of the Dubliners by pointing out that for these people even love was a luxury.