Rate this book

Araby (Dubliners) (2000)

by James Joyce(Favorite Author)

3.83 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

review 1: Topically speaking, subtle references to clerical child abuse and homosexuality make Araby as relevant now as it was when it was published in the first part of the twentieth century. Thematically also, the story takes on contemporary relevance: The story is a first-person narrative about a boy who leaves the confines of his religiously-framed childhood and ventures to the exotic land of 'Araby', really a travelling fair/marketplace. Along the way, he discovers that there is no romantic ideal that has not been tainted by materialism and the dirty squalor of the world. The story closes with the narrator's realization that (no spoiler here). Not a happy read, but an enriching one, with a density of symbol and allegory that only Joyce can persuasively main... moretain.
review 2: This short story is about unrequited 'love', or simply - obsession with someone else. The narrator is essentially waiting for his crush to pass by his house everyday so that he can follow her, only to quickly leave when she changes direction. He barely knows her, yet devotes so much of his energy to pursuing her only to frequently lose out in the end.The narrator has proved himself to be a rather timid character, as shown by how he follows the girl without telling her how he feels or actually getting to know her.His attempt to buy something for her shows both his desperation, and the fact that he doesn't do so in the end shows the futility of it. less

Download links for: Araby (Dubliners)

Advertising