Kim 1 Christine Jungwon Kim Mrs.

Brenda Brayko AP English Literature & Composition 17 September 2012 A Moment of Epiphany As a nave young boy, the narrator and protagonist of Araby by James Joyce is initially oblivious to the harsh truths of reality and falls prey to baseless fantasy. But soon, as depicted by the ending passage (See Appendix A), he reaches a moment of realization and escapes from the walls of innocence that had trapped him. The passage featured at the closing lines of the story captures the moments leading up to this newfound awareness by introducing the catalyst, foreshadowing, and depicting the final outcome through unique structure, allusion, and contrasting word choice and themes. Much of the story that comes before this passage is marked by little dialogue and much personal narrative; even the few dialogue that do appear are never longer than one remark or a simple reply. In stark contrast, the dialogue at the beginning of this passage is remarkably more extensive and the interaction between the two individuals is shown more in detail. Through using this previously unused style and providing more detail, the author is signaling that the particular section deserves more attention and is significant to the plot of the story. Then, once readers pay closer attention to the actual content and realize that remarks such as O, but I didnt! and O, theres a fib! signify an older and more flirtatious relationship between two compatible members of the opposite gender that the protagonist has never been a part of, they see the beginning traces of a potential inner confusion and awareness for the protagonist (Joyce).

Kim 2 After introducing the possible spark for the protagonists realization, the passage subtly foreshadows its results through a biblical narrative. Having heard the flirty conversation, the protagonist goes on to observe the items in the store and in the process comes across the great jars that stood like eastern guards at either side of the dark entrance to the stall (Joyce). This description is a reference to the two guards at the gate of the Garden of Eden barring Adam and Eve from reentering after their fall from innocence and consequently also after their awareness of the human world. Coupled with the prior long dialogue, this allusion hints at a parallel between Adam and Eves banishment from the garden and the protagonists impending release from naivet. Through this, the author solidly hammers down the point that the passage marks an important moment of growth and understanding for the protagonist. The contrasting word choice and themes that are scattered throughout the passage then reinforce the effect of the previously discussed catalyst and foreshadowing. After the boy overhears the young man and woman flirting, he starts to doubt the feasibility of his fantasies of his friends sister and thus, words such as humbly and murmured that convey his decline in confidence and fantasy are used (Joyce). The use of these words also sets a solemn tone that is fitting for the reflection the protagonist is going through. Then, when the boy has finally realized the folly of his beliefs and actions in the final paragraph, strong, emotionally charged words such as anguish and anger are used to depict his feelings at his realization (Joyce). This drastic difference in word choice and tones of the different parts of the passage shows how the protagonist and his view truly have changed during the passage. Moreover, the lights going out and Araby turning completely dark may also symbolize how the protagonists naivet and innocence that led him to ungrounded fantasy exist no more and have gone out into the darkness as the lights did (Joyce).

Kim 3 As the last few paragraphs of the story, this passage serves as a culmination of all the prior events in Araby. It is a crucial moment of disillusionment and realization for the protagonist, and though this is not stated explicitly, the passage carries this message through to the reader by drawing attention to the beginning of the realization and suggesting the course of the story, while interspersing contrasting word choice and themes to drive home the protagonists transformation. Thus, after this passage, the audience can expect the protagonist to be more aware and realistic in the future.

Kim 4 Appendix A: "O, I never said such a thing!" "O, but you did!" "O, but I didn't!" "Didn't she say that?" "Yes. I heard her." "O, there's a... fib!"

Observing me the young lady came over and asked me did I wish to buy anything. The tone of her voice was not encouraging; she seemed to have spoken to me out of a sense of duty. I looked humbly at the great jars that stood like eastern guards at either side of the dark entrance to the stall and murmured:

"No, thank you."

The young lady changed the position of one of the vases and went back to the two young men. They began to talk of the same subject. Once or twice the young lady glanced at me over her shoulder.

I lingered before her stall, though I knew my stay was useless, to make my interest in her wares seem the more real. Then I turned away slowly and walked down the middle of the bazaar. I allowed the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in my pocket. I heard a voice call from one end of the gallery that the light was out. The upper part of the hall was now completely dark.

Kim 5 Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.

Kim 6 Works Cited Joyce, James. "Dubliners, by James Joyce ." Project Gutenberg - free ebooks. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2012. <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2814/2814-h/2814h.htm#2H_4_0003>.