Anne Gascon

AP English Literature
Mr. Oh
December 6, 2019
Araby Literary Analysis
“Araby” by James Joyce, is a bildungsroman centered around a young boy who is
infatuated with the girl who lived in his street, and would do anything for her. His infatuation led
him to realize that his relationship with the girl was not special, and that he was foolish to chase
after her. Joyce subtly hints at the foolishness of the protagonist that can resonate with readers,
using rhetorical devices to aid him and help the reader realize the theme without it being laid out
by him[James Joyce]. He uses devices such as allusion, personification, etc. throughout the
whole story.
Throughout the story, allusion was used, a majority being biblical references. In the story,
Joyce mentions about “The Arab’s Farewell to His Steed”. Both the main character’s story and
“The Arab’s Farewell to His Steed” are similar, which might be the reason as to why the author
throws this reference to the story. Another allusion was the apple tree described towards the
beginning of the story. It references the Garden of Eden, and how both Adam and Eve lost their
innocence from the tree; it can show foreshadowing towards the boy’s innocence. The chalice
mentioned in the story as well can be used as a biblical allusion. The author somewhat compared
the girl the character is infatuated with a chalice; something that is spiritually sacred, which is
what the girl is to the boy.
Personification is shown as well in this story. “All my senses seemed to desire to veil
themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them…” is one form of personification. The
author personifies the main character’s senses, in attempts to justify the fact that the boy is
separating the fact that he isn’t the one with the desire, but it is his senses instead. Another is
when the author personifies the house when describing the setting of the story. When he states
that “The other houses of the street, conscious of decent lives within them, gazed at one another
with brown imperturbable faces.”, he’s giving life as if they were the residents instead of houses.
We can see that literary devices helped create the story and helped the readers understand
the theme and the message the author is trying to portray without the author trying directly
giving it to them. Allusion and personification are only two used, and there are many more in the
story. With this information, we can clearly see the message shown, and the small details that
create the theme.