Character Analysis Essay

A short story Araby written by the famous Irish writer and poet James Joyce represents an interesting psychological story told by a young boy. Unfortunately, the author did not give the name to his narrator. This story is included in the volume of short stories which is called Dubliners and where the author shows the society he lives in. The major idea of the short story Araby is representation of maturity of a young boy, his first love experience, his feelings and emotions. A young boy who cannot understand his real feelings pretends to be mature but fails to realize his desires.
My goal in this essay is to analyze the main character of the literary work and to show how the traits of his character contribute to the overall theme of the story.
The traits of the Main Character in the Short Story Araby and the Way the Author Portrays these Traits
A young boy represented in the story is a kind, shy and very sensitive person but he has rather weak character. He fell in love with some girl who was a sister of his friend Mangan. The author of the story portrays the traits of the boy’s character through his actions, thoughts, feelings and behavior.
The narrator of the story, a young boy lives with his aunt and uncle in “an uninhabited house of two storeys” which “stood in the blind end, detached from its neighbors in a square ground”. (Joyce 155)
It is clear from the boy’s words that he is not a cheerful guy because he sees everything around him in the dark colors. He walks through “dark muddy lanes”, “dark dripping gardens” to “the dark odorous stables”. Moreover, he is afraid of his uncle because he “hid in the shadow” when his uncle returned home late at night. However, this gloomy boy has found “a light” in his life. He saw his friend’s sister from a distance and it was enough for him to make that girl an ideal. It is necessary to say that this boy is a little bit romantic. He gives such a description of his ideal: “Her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side”.(Joyce 154)
The narrator is a shy person because “every morning he lay on the floor” waiting for this girl to go out. He was afraid that she would see him. (Joyce 155)
Of course, this boy was too young to understand what a true feeling of love was for him. He had no any experience in this field of human relations that is why it was difficult for him to give an explanation to his feelings, his absolutely new feelings. He waited for a little touch of this girl or for a word. He wanted to communicate with her but he was too shy and he could not take any actions to be closer to her.
Nevertheless, the main character is motivated by his new feelings regarding this girl who became his ideal. Her name was always in his mind. (Joyce 157)
Once he has got a chance to talk to this girl. She was the first to start a conversation. Of course, the boy was confused and did not know what to answer. He promised her to buy some present at Araby, a splendid bazaar in Dublin. In this situation, the author shows that his character is a kind person. He is ready to spend his money and to buy a present to this girl.
The next thing which is important in representation of the character’s traits is that the boy was looking forward to fulfill his promise. The author shows that the boy was responsible. He has got the permission from his uncle to go to Araby on Sunday night. The boy was looking forward to that day. The author gives a detailed description of the emotional state of the boy who was rather excited. He could not call “his wandering thoughts together”, he “had hardly any patience with the serious work of life”. (Joyce 159)
He even ignored all his every day activities as the major goal in his life was his visit to Araby.
The major Character’s Change throughout the Story
James Joyce is a great master of representation human feelings and emotions in his literary works. He managed to show how the main character of his short story Araby changed throughout the story. If in the first part of the story the boy is so inspired by his desire to have a talk with his friend’s sister and then to visit the bazaar Araby and to buy her a present, in the second part of the story the boy is disappointed and frustrated and even angry with himself. The situation which can prove this change of the main character is the following one. He went to the bazaar Araby late at night because his uncle was late that evening. When the boy came to that place he saw that almost all the shops were closed except one where the presents were too expensive for him. He could not fulfill his promise. He had to leave the bazaar without any present and in low spirits. The boy was disappointed. As all the shops were closed, “the greater part of the hall was in darkness” and there was silence in the hall as if he came to the church. (Joyce 160)
The author shows a psychological change of the main character. His romantic feelings concerning the girl and the bazaar Araby disappear and he finds himself in the dark place. He returns to reality, to the dark world where there are no romantic feeling and there is no love. James Joyce shows immaturity of the boy which leads him to understanding “dark” reality.
The story is built in such a way that the main character’s traits drive the story to its end, to the dark reality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary to say that the author could not only represent the main character’s personality which was immature at the beginning of the story but also he could show the destruction of his ideals and his desires at the end of the story. The author tries to explain that the main character has no opportunity to fulfill his desires. The bazaar stands for Dublin, the city where any action is paralyzed, any desire is destructed, any feeling of love is an illusion.