Essay about Obsession in Araby of James Joyces Dubliners

Obsession in Araby In James Joyce’s short story Araby, the main character is a young boy who confuses obsession with love. This boy thinks he is in love with a young girl, but all of his thoughts, ideas, and actions show that he is merely obsessed. Throughout this short story, there are many examples that show the boy’s obsession for the girl. There is also evidence that shows the boy does not really understand love or all of the feelings that go along with it. When the boy first describes the girl, you can see his obsession for her. He seems to notice every detail such as her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side (Joyce 548). You do not usually remember every minute†¦show more content†¦This shows that the boy always watches where she is going, and then goes out of his way to get physically closer to her. In this example, you can plainly see that the boy’s actions are being controlled by his obsession for the girl, and not by some great love he has for her. Another example, that shows the boy’s obsession for the young girl, comes after the two of them have a brief conversation. In the conversation, the young girl asks the young boy if he is going to Araby (Joyce 548), and then the girl states that it would be a splendid bazaar, she would love to go (Joyce 549), but she is already obligated to something else. Finally, the young boy says, If I go, I will bring you something (Joyce 549). After the boy speaks to the girl, he finds it hard to concentrate on anything except for her. This is how the boy describes what he is feeling just after his brief conversation with the young girl: What innumerable follies laid waste my waking and sleeping thoughts after that evening! d to annihilate the tedious intervening days. I chafed against the work of school. At night in my bedroom and by day in the classroom her image came between me and the page I strove to read. The syllables of the word Araby were called to me through the silence in which my soul luxuriated and cast an Eastern enchantment over me. (Joyce 549) In this excerpt, you can plainly see that the boy thinks he is in love with the girl, but inShow MoreRelated Comparing Updikes AP and Joyces Araby Essay1336 Words   |  6 PagesComparing Updikes A P and Joyces Araby  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John Updikes A P and James Joyces Araby share many of the same literary traits. The primary focus of the two stories revolves around a young man who is compelled to decipher the difference between cruel reality and the fantasies of romance that play in his head. That the man does, indeed, discover the difference is what sets him off into emotional collapse. One of the main similarities between the two stories is the fact that the mainRead MoreEssay on Male and Female Paralysis in James Joyces Dubliners3585 Words   |  15 PagesMale and Female Paralysis in Dubliners Critics widely recognized that each story within James Joyce’s Dubliners contains a theme of paralysis. In fact, Joyce himself wrote, â€Å"My intention was to write a chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene because that city seemed to me the centre of paralysis† (Joyce, letter to Grant Richards, 5 May 1906). Contained in this moral history called Dubliners are twelve stories that deal with the paralysis of a central maleRead MoreAmbiguity At The Araby By James Joyce2076 Words   |  9 Pagesthe Araby Recent trends in literature heavily rely on crossover between genres. Science fiction is becoming more integrated with young adult novels, and even murder mysteries are starting to incorporate romance. This crossover insures authors that they will be able to reach a broader audience, with the hopes that more people will read their books. Short stories have blended countless genres together for a long time, so it’s not surprising to see a short mystery, or a short romance. Poet James JoyceRead MoreAnalysis Of James Joyce s The Dead Essay1857 Words   |  8 PagesJames Joyce has been regarded as a literary genius for the better half of a century, and perhaps his most popular and most widely debated piece is the last story of Dubliners, â€Å"The Dead.† The ending paragraph of the story is deemed one of the most beautiful endings in all of modern literature, and the story’s ultimate meaning can be hypothesized and criticized in discussion after discussion, makin g it a popular work among the ascribed literary canon in academia. The whole of Dubliners is meant to