The setting in “Araby” reinforces the theme and the characters’ feelings of isolation. It also expands on the idea of corruption, as Araby is described as an area that has been stripped of all life and color. Araby is very symbolic of some characters’ isolation, which can be seen through one character’s admittance that Araby was “the city of the old Pharaohs…the caravans brought up bulging strings of ostrich eggs and the beautiful Egyptian dancers wore necklaces strung with milky white pearls.
Araby envied Cairo it’s nights lit by electricity instead of candles; it boasted to Cairo that its tramways were superior to those in Paris or London” (Joyce, Paragraph 14). Araby represents different things to different people: Araby represents the past, a time of life before being corrupted by modern materialistic ideals. Araby is also representative of a lack of faith and spirituality in some characters. Araby was once a beautiful place but became so corrupt that it lost all color and life, similar to many people who lose their innocence as they grow up.
Araby is “the city of the old Pharaohs…the caravans brought up bulging strings of ostrich eggs and the beautiful Egyptian dancers wore necklaces strung with milky white pearls” (Paragraph 14). This statement suggests Araby used to be filled with beauty and culture before becoming corrupted by materialism. Another example can be found when Farrington says he is “‘…tired of lying in bed like a gentleman. ’ He was only feigning this lassitude, and Arty knew it. How many nights Farrington had turned on the light at two or three o’clock to sit up reading thrillers under the sheets! Arty couldn’t help admiring his robustness” (Paragraph 19).
Araby is used to represent something corrupting Farrington by making him lose faith in humanity and become more masculine with his materialistic ideals. Araby can also be seen as just a representation of all that is corrupt within society. Araby “envy(ed) Cairo it’s nights lit by electricity instead of candles; it boasted to Cairo that its tramways were superior to those in Paris or London” (Paragraph 14). Araby represents anything that is a symbol of corruption, such as materialistic ideals and material objects. Araby “was no city of fountains and wide squares,…(there was) only the two lines of dingy houses” (Paragraph 22).
Araby can also be seen as just the representation for all that is gone from life, not just corrupt. Summary: Araby is a short story by James Joyce published in 1914. “Araby,” tells the story of a young boy who falls in love with Mangan’s sister, but gets heartbroken when she rejects him at an Arab bazaar. The boy then becomes disillusioned with the world. The boy’s innocence is taken away by Araby when Mangan’s sister rejects him at Araby. Araby then symbolizes the corruption of society to the boy, which further drives his disillusionment.
Araby becomes representative of all that is corrupt within society and all that has been lost from life. Araby can also be seen as just a representation of what was once there but is no more, not just what is corrupted or gone from life. Araby can represent anything that makes one lose faith in humanity and become more masculine with their ideals to avoid feeling hurt over rejection. Araby envies materialistic things like electricity to feel superior compared to other cities around that boast about “their” tramways being “better” than Paris or London’s. Araby is also representative of all that is gone from life, not just corrupt.
Araby was once a beautiful place but became so corrupt that it lost all color and life, similar to many people who lose their innocence as they grow up. Araby represents anything that makes one lose faith in humanity and become more masculine with their ideals to avoid feeling hurt over rejection. Araby envies materialistic things like electricity to feel superior compared to other cities around that boast about “their” tramways being “better” than Paris or London’s. Araby can be seen as just a representation of what was once there but has been lost, not just corruption or gone from life.
Araby is also representative of all that has been lost from life, not just corruption. Araby envies materialistic things like electricity to feel superior compared to other cities around the world which boast about “their” tramways being “better” than Paris or London’s. Araby can be seen as just a representation of what was once there but has been lost, not just corruption. Araby becomes representative of all that is corrupt within society and all that has been lost from life and can be seen as just a representation of what was once beautiful but has since become corrupted and gone from life.
Araby represents anything that makes one lose faith in humanity and become more masculine with their ideals to avoid feeling hurt over such as materialistic objects like electricity. Araby envies materialistic things like electricity to feel superior compared to other cities around the world which boast about “their” tramways being “better” than Paris or London’s. Araby can be seen as just a representation of what was once there but has been lost, not just corruption or gone from life.
Araby is also representative of all that has been lost from life, not just corruption. Araby envies materialistic things like electricity to feel superior compared to other cities around the world which boast about “their” tramways being “better” than Paris or London’s. Araby can be seen as just a representation of what was once beautiful but has since become corrupted and gone from life Araby represents anything that makes one lose faith in humanity and become more masculine with their ideals to avoid feeling hurt over such as materialistic objects like electricity.
Araby envies materialistic things like electricity to feel superior compared to other cities around the world which boast about “their” tramways being “better” than Paris or London’s Araby can be seen as just a representation for what was once there but has been lost, not just corruption or gone from life Araby is also representative of all that has been lost from life, not just corrupt Araby envies materialistic things like electricity to feel superior compared to other cities around the world which boast about “their” tramways being “better” than Paris or London’s Araby can be seen as just a representation for what was once beautiful but has since become corrupted and gone from life Araby represents anything that makes one lose faith in humanity and become more masculine with their ideals to avoid feeling hurt over such as materialistic objects like electricity.
Araby envies materialistic things like electricity to feel superior compared to other cities around the world which boast about “their” tramways being “better” than Paris or London’s Araby can be seen as just a representation for what was once there but has been lost, not just corruption or gone from life Araby is also representative of all that has been lost from life, not just corrupt Araby envies materialistic things like electricity to feel superior compared to other cities around the world which boast about “their” tramways being “better” than Paris or London’s Araby can be seen as just a representation for what was once beautiful but has since become corrupted and gone from life Araby represents anything that makes one lose faith in humanity and become more masculine with their ideals to avoid feeling hurt over such as materialistic objects like electricity.