Paragraph 1: "Araby"
At first glance,
James Joyce’s “Araby “might appear like a failed love story of a boy who had
been infatuated by a particular girl in his town of North Dublin Street. After
all, when “the boy” is distracted by thinking about the girl all day and fails
to accomplish his mission to bring something back to the girl from the bazaar,
Araby, we could infer that the boy miserably failed to capture attention from
the girl. The boy refuses the offer to buy some “teacups” on the lady’s stand
and notices that his presence in the bazaar is now useless as he “allowed the
two pennies to fall against the six pence” in his pocket. However, on the other
hand, the boy’s failure in his love affair does not simply imply an abject
ending; the reasons behind his ultimate failure – routine cycle of his duties
like “prolonged meal” or “enduring tea time” – reveal that familiar things and
events are indeed crucial to determining the fate of our lives. Therefore, it
is perhaps more accurate to assume that “Araby” is an enlightening story that provides
people with essential revelation about not forgetting the familiar things that
surround us. In this sense, the boy is the border between excitements toward
encountering new moments and dullness of facing familiarity.
Paragraph 2: "The Boarding House"
James Joyce’s “The
Boarding House” is a discomforting story that illustrates one woman’s selfish
and manipulative behavior upon marriage of her daughter. In fact, Mrs. Mooney’s
conviction about the “only one reparation” and her behavior of “counting all
her cards” obviously unveils an avaricious desire to acquire greater material
wealth and higher social status. When Mr. Doran laments his situation as “long
years of service gone for nothing”, we invoke sympathy for the man and outrage
towards the woman who acts immorally in favor of her own advantage. However, such
attempts of negotiation do not simply reflect people’s desire to “fly away to
another country” but shows a larger part of our society where diverse people
join to create a whole under particular convention. Thus, on a broader
perspective, “The Boarding House” criticizes people’s narrow aspect in a
rule-governed society where people feel pressured to improve themselves from a
certain class hierarchy. In this regard, the boarding house represents the hierarchical
society where people experience the clash between morality and surreptitious
desire to surpass others.
