Araby Group

Question:

cgoodly
cgoodly
Student
Graduate School

Does the narrator of "Araby" succeed in his main purpose at the end of the story?

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Posted by cgoodly on Tuesday January 29, 2008 at 6:59 PM and tagged with araby, narrator, plot, purpose.

Answers:


  1. sullymonster Teacher
    Community / Jr. College

    eNotes Editor

    The answer is two-fold:  yes and no.  The narrator's purpose is (in part) to get to Araby, the church-run bazaar that is occurring.  Of course, his reason for going to Araby is to pursue Mangan's sister, an older girl who has captivated his attention.  The narrator believes that if he gets to Araby he will win over this saint of a girl.

    He does get to Araby.  However, when he does, the narrator forgets about his other goal - meaning that he does not achieve this part of his purpose.  He forgets about the Mangan's sister because he is disillusioned by the shallow and fake appearance of the carnival.  Because he has always had such strong faith, he believes that a church carnival - like Mangan's sister - will be a religious and divine experience.  Instead, it leaves him feeling misled and empty.  So, his secondary purpose is stolen away from him with his youthful innocence. 

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/araby/summary

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    Posted by sullymonster on Tuesday January 29, 2008 at 7:13 PM