Toma Prokhasko

Written assignment no.1 (rewritten)

Analyse the theme of maturation in Joyce`s “Araby”

The period in which children become teenagers is always very difficult and can turn into a real challenge

both for the young person and for his family. That`s why we need to talk about this process to understand the

reasons for such transformation. In my opinion, James Joyce`s “Araby” is a story about a young boy going

through the path of maturation and this process was started by some factors, including his first interest in

girls, disappointment and exposure to the problems of the adult world.

First of all, Joyce describes how the interest of the main character in playing with friends changed into

interest in Mangan` sister. This was a completely new feeling for the boy. Having fun with peers used to be

his main way of spending time, but now he ended up stalking his object of attention and his feelings are

turning into a kind of obsession. Not even having talked to her properly, the boy religiously perceives his

love, and it makes him melancholic. “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises

which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full of tears I could not tell why and at times a flood

from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom”, the boy thinks to himself (Joyce 2). It is something

unusual and strange for the main character, but from our perspective falling in love is common for most

children who are becoming teenagers.

Suddenly the boy gets a chance to impress the girl by bringing her something from the bazaar where she

cannot go. This makes him so excited, that he cannot think about anything else. The boy`s uncle, who

promised him to give some money for the bazaar, forgot about it and came home late. We can imagine the

feeling of the boy`s overwhelming frustration at this moment: he wanted to impress his love, but a close

person let him down. Situations like this are crucial for the process of maturation because they change

children`s vision of life from something perfectly joyful into something filled with disappointment and

suffering. This is a hard, but necessary slap, which starts the preparation for real life with its problems.

The main character still managed to reach his goal - "Araby", but almost every shop was already closed.

One more disappointment. He also saw two men and a woman flirting. This sexual behaviour also turned out

to be a discovery for the boy because it shows the real purpose of most relations between the two genders.
The realization of this fact can be shocking for young people, but also important for forming the own picture

of the world.

One more crucial aspect of maturation is the understanding of the role of money in life and how it divides

people. The author describes this realization in following sentence: “I lingered before her stall, though I

knew my stay was useless, to make my interest in her wares seem the more real” (Joyce 5). This is also hard

to understand because children usually don`t distinguish between rich and poor people, but suddenly they

bump into this state of affairs in the world.

To conclude, we can say that Joyce`s "Araby" shows us the process and the reasons for the main character`s

maturation. The author leads his hero through the way of falling in love, disappointment, realization of how

adults treat each other and understanding of money`s role in life. In my opinion, parents should read this

story, because it might help them to understand their children better and to avoid mistakes that can hurt their

feelings.

References:

Joyce, James. Dubliners. London, Grant Richards, 1914