Critique of Araby
By James Joyce
This story is like nothing I’ve read before. It is very dark and gave me a sad feeling while reading it. There was no excitement and seemed to be going nowhere. The story limits dialog and because of this I felt like I was reading a formal piece of writing instead of an actual story. The narrator who remains nameless seems to be a young boy who is infatuated with his friend’s sister who is only referred to as “Mangan’s sister”. A story narrated by a young boy should be fun; instead it reminded me of a grey haired man who could not be with the one he loved which is very depressing. There is no sense of humor throughout the story which made me feel like if it were a movie, it would be in black and white. I believe that a story narrated by a young boy should have been more playful and happy and less dark and ere. However, I still believe that there was a lesson to learn while reading this story which made it unique.
The setting of this story takes place in Dublin, Ireland on North Richmond Street. There is evidence of personification given when North Richmond Street is described as blind and quiet. The narrator states that “Shouts echoed in the silent streets” giving me a feeling that his neighborhood was very dark. There was evidence of imagery that supported this idea which included the rooms of the narrator’s house being described as high, cold, empty, and gloomy with musty air from being enclosed. Also with the priest dying in his house previously, I believe that signifies the religious views of the author dying. It seems as though he lives in a small community because the narrator only speaks of his home, neighborhood and the Araby. The