In James Joyce's "Araby", a mysterious insight into a young boy's life is revealed as he moves from a state of naivety to awareness of his life. We watch him lead himself through a journey to the fateful end in which he realizes his disillusionment with love, adults, and the world in which he lives. The boy is a representative of each of us as we mature in our dark and dirty world and stop looking. to life through a rose-colored glass. Joyce incorporates images of light and darkness into the boy's journey to reveal how we, like the boy, become disillusioned with the light and that upon discovering the true darkness of our world, our innocence is lost. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Joyce begins the story by describing the naive life in which we, as humans, grow up. By exposing the dark and gloomy environment. in which the boy resides, we begin to see the narrow-mindedness we initially have toward our own world. The dark surroundings provided a comfortable setting for the boy, as it was what he had grown accustomed to and was familiar with. He and his friends played in the “dark, dripping gardens” (106), along the “dark, muddy alleys” (106), and in the shadows of the city without any fear. The darkness and its shadows represent the townspeople who have already experienced disillusionment. The boys, who are surrounded by the shadows of the people, were very much alive and their youth and "brilliance" (106) tell us that their souls had not yet been suppressed by the ways of the world. This disillusionment is a common deception. that a person must face in their life before realizing that there is more to their life than what meets the eye. In "Araby", the boy begins to open up to the idea that there might be more to his little world than what is there when he catches a glimpse of his friend's sister, Mangan. He was awed by her majestic glow as the light swirled around her and invited her to worship her and her essence. Here the boy began to unconsciously separate himself from his childish nature and inherit the adult attributes of love and adoration that one gets while growing up. The girl, in his mind, was an object of devotion. The boy began to acquire a false feeling towards her, as we all often do after finding our first love, and he developed an idolatrous stature towards her in his mind. Even though he was aware of his feelings for her, he found it difficult to get close to Mangan's sister, even if she was only a few meters away. Instead, as he looked at the light that surrounded the girl, he hid from her sight in the comfortable shadows of the night. His retirement gives the intimidation one faces as he sees everything great before him, but is unable to command himself to move forward with the feelings he is passionate about. This abandonment, in its familiarity with darkness, is the first step toward observing innocence and breaking down the barriers that keep us within their protected circle. The boy was afraid to approach Mangan's sister because he did not know how to understand the emotions of love and sexuality he felt towards her. He wanted to get closer to her, but did not know how to express his “confused adoration” (107). He expressed this need to try something new and break out of his naive understanding of love when he was walking through the dark living room of his house on a gloomy, rainy evening. It is here that Joyce reveals the turning point that the boy and a person take when hedecides to want to move towards the unknown territories of love. The boy chooses to face his friend's sister and this new love with eyes that cannot see. When he went to the back room, where the priest had died, to think of her, "a distant lamp or window shone below (him) and (he) was grateful to be able to see so little. All ( his) senses seemed to want to reveal themselves” (108). Part of the problem with infatuation is that the object of your adoration is oblivious to your existence and its significance in your life. It is a form of blindness. The one who is infatuated is blind to the fact that he or she may not be the center of the other's universe. While that is often the case, it certainly was the case in the story of. this young boy therefore willed himself not to see because he must be blind to be able to experience the exquisite pains of first love. It's all part of growing up and making personal decisions rather than being dependent. advice from others With a blinded state of mind, the boy finally found the courage to speak with Mangan's sister and he got even more lost in his ardor. During their brief conversation, he discovered that she wanted to go to Araby, a bazaar outside the town where the boy lived, but that he could not. Once again he buried himself in his own fantasy of love and he did it. I don't even realize the nuances of envy and bitterness that the young girl expressed to him. She said: “It is good” (108) for him to go to Arabia but the boy, being blinded, paid no attention to it. Instead, he tried to please his idol and convince her by declaring that he would buy her something in Arabia, in an attempt to buy her love. In the days leading up to his trip to Arabia, Joyce reveals the discontent that began to arise when the romantic pursuit began to take over the boy's daily reality, destroying his ability to function. In the story, the boy began to fear the world he lived in. He didn't care about the things he valued before, like school and studying. His thoughts wandered as he dreamed of the day he could leave his town and go to the bazaar. All the actions he habitually performed seemed to be "ugly, monotonous child's play" (109). There is a hint of new understanding here, as the boy seems critical of his past; at the same time, he seems to condemn his own feelings, which he still associates today with the "serious work of life" (108-109). On the day of his departure, the boy was overflowing with emotions of pleasure. He couldn't sit still and paced his enthusiasm throughout his house. The author shows how one becomes separated from their consciousness as the boy walked through the "empty, dark rooms" of his house and he felt relieved that brighter, more inspiring rooms awaited him only miles away . His trip, however, was delayed due to the recklessness of his uncle, who arrived late, drunk and uninterested in his nephew's planned trip. The boy is thus awakened by the disillusionment he had acquired with regard to adults. so far in his life. When the boy finally arrived in Araby, it was late and he feared the bazaar would be closed. He entered through the gates of the bazaar and found that almost all the stalls were closed and surrounded by darkness. the glamorous and wonderful place he had imagined. It was as dreary and dark as the town he lived in. Market disillusionment is similar to the consequences one faces when one's chosen path does not work out as expected. The boy continued throughout the market, hoping to find something to take with him to please.