In Search of the Light
Everybody experiences tribulations in life, but while adults face them, children run from them. In James Joyce’s “Araby” and William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper,” the protagonists are both poor children growing up without their parents whose circumstances force them to find ways to escape their miserable life conditions. In “Araby,” the boy lives in a dirty, poor, blind-ended street. He spends his pathetic life infatuated with his next-door neighbor who doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. In “The Chimney Sweeper,” Tom Dacre is an indigent little boy who is obligated to clean dusty chimneys and to sleep in soot. His heart breaks when his white curly hair is viciously shaved off. Though both the boy and Tom Dacre experience disillusionment for the first time in their lives, the boy reacts with fantasy and vanity, while Tom Dacre react with dreams and faith. And yet, at the same time, the two boys’ reactions to their experiences may not be as different as they first appear. The Boy in “Araby” is in love fantasizing about being a knight in shining armor, seeking to win his princess’ love. At the same time, he uses his imagination in an attempt to escape the bleak darkness of North Richmond Street and the shadows in which he hides to observe his beloved neighbor. Similarly, Tom Dacre uses dreams as hid only resource to escape his hopeless life. He dreams that an angel of light will give him a bright key that will