Narrator's Romantic View Of Love example essay topic
480 words
Characterization in "Araby" Characterization is a major part in many short stories. The characters in a short story shape the story to make it more interesting to read. The main character of a story usually has human personalities that are familiar to the reader. All boys have a "crush " on an older girl when they are young. In "Araby", James Joyce shows all the feelings and emotions of a young boy's love for his friend " solder sister. The story takes place in Dublin, Ireland in the young narrator " 's house. A deceased priest had once owned the house and left behind some books which the young boy enjoys reading. The boy takes the stories that he reads and applies them to his own life. At the beginning of the story the reader is told of the narrator's fondness ofMangan's sister. His quest for her affection is much like that of the medieval knight's quest for the Holy Grail.
As he walks through the streets of Dublin, "he imagines that he bares his chalice safely through the throng of foes". The narrator also imagines Mangan's sister as the holy Madonna. At one point, his love for Mangan's sister overwhelms him, and he presses his palms together and begins to chant "O Love! O Love!" .
The narrator's view of love is idealistic. He has set Mangan's sister upon a pedestal, and his expectations of love are too unrealistic. At the end of the story, the narrator is bitter. He realizes tha this view of love is idealized and unrealistic. Sordid reality is epitomized by the fair. The young boy goes to Araby with the romantic goal of buying a gift for Mangan's sister, but the bazaar is dismal and dreary; it fulfills none of the narrator's expectations.
His disappointment in Araby fills him with anger. Along with his disappointment in Araby, the narrator's romantic view of love is destroyed The destruction of his fantasy of love brings about his epiphany. He begins to dislike himself because he discovers that his quest for love was a folly that has wasted his time and made him feel foolish. He associates this disillusionment of his love with religion. In the end, he is left with a dark emptiness in his soul and bitterness in his heart.
At the beginning of the story the reader can see that the narrator is fond of Mangan's sister. The story ends with the narrator being bitter as he is disappointed with Araby. The outcome of the story is not tragic, although the narrator is bitterly disappointed. James Joyce did a great job throughout the story showing the young narrator " 's infatuation for a friend's older sister.
