In the short story “Araby” by James Joyce, a young boy is devastated when he is unable to fulfill his heroic quest and buy a gift for the girl with whom he is infatuated.
The unnamed narrator and protagonist is excited at the prospect of heading off to the bazaar and buying something nice for the girl he fancies. Seeing himself in the role of a medieval knight, the young lad jumps at the chance to do something heroic and thereby escape the confines of his drab, workaday existence, even if only for a few hours.
Unfortunately, hope turns to crushing disappointment when the boy arrives at the bazaar just as it is closing. Even though one of the vendors is still open and asks him if he wants to buy something, the boy chooses not to. All the romance that had been burning away in his soul has now been doused by cold, hard reality.
This unhappy ending to the story is a prime example of what is called situational irony, which occurs when there is a gap between what was expected to happen and what actually happens. The boy is expecting to buy Mangan's sister a wonderful gift at the exciting bazaar, but what actually happened was that he leaves the dreary bazaar empty-handed, his heart sunk in sadness and disappointment.
Further Reading
How does the irony in "Araby" heighten the moment of epiphany within the story?
The narrator's situation is ironic because he believed the exotically named Araby bazaar would somehow be different and more enchanting than his ordinary, drab Dublin world, even though it occurred in the heart of Dublin. The boy thinks he can show his power and impress Mangan's sister, his object of desire, by bringing her back a special gift from this bazaar.
The narrator has to wait for his alcoholic uncle to get home to get the money he needs to go the bazaar, and by the time he gets there, it is closing. Worse, it is unimpressive, especially in its closing stages, and it is peopled with ordinary Dubliners. The only things on sale are ordinary goods: the boy examines "porcelain vases and flowered tea-sets." Ironically, there is nothing here for him—or for Mangan's sister—that in any way represents the exotic.
The irony of the setting, amid flirting commonplace Dubliners, a bazaar emptying and shutting down, and the sounds of money being counted out adds to the poignancy of the narrator's epiphany. He is ashamed and angry that he expected something beyond the humdrum at "Araby" as he stands amid a place and people that exemplify all the dullness of the culture he wanted to escape.
How does the irony in "Araby" heighten the moment of epiphany within the story?
There are many different types of irony, but, in general terms, something is ironic when something very different than what was expected happens. Often, irony is used for comedic purposes but, in the case of James Joyce's "Araby," irony has more to do with bitterness and melancholy than with humor.
In "Araby," a little boy has an intense crush on Mangan's sister, one of the girls living in his...
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neighborhood. Mangan's sister asks the narrator to buy her a gift at the bazaar, and the boy gleefully imagines this to be his chance to prove his love through some grand, romantic gesture. However, when the boy finally arrives at the bazaar, he finds it to be a far cry from the exotic adventure he imagined, as it is dark, largely empty, and uninviting. The story ends with an epiphany, as the narrator realizes his dreams of love have been foolish childhood fantasies.
The irony here is that, instead of being an exciting display of foreign treasures, the bazaar is rather disappointing. Moreover, despite his obsessive desire to find a gift for Mangan's sister, the narrator does not ultimately buy her anything. The ironic end emphasizes the narrator's epiphany and displays the foolishness of his childhood fantasies, revealing them to be at odds with the harsh reality of the adult world. All in all, irony is an important element in "Araby," as its presence underlines the bitterness of the narrator's epiphany.
What irony is present in "Araby"?
I think this story is filled with irony, but you'll need to decide which type(s) of irony you wish to identify and write about.
** verbal irony -- for example, when a character says one thing but means another
** dramatic irony -- several possibilities, including when "the character expects the opposite of what the reader knows that fate holds in store"
** situational irony -- "in which accidental events occur that seem oddly appropriate"
See the lit_terms link below and scroll down to Irony to read about various types of irony in detail.
What irony is present in "Araby"?
Irony is a contrast between appearance and actuality. In this story, the innocent young boy thinks he's in love with Mangan's sister. He sees himself as a religious hero and equates the young girl to the Virgin Mary. His feelings for her at the beginnning are very strong. "But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires." He confuses his crush on her with his religious teachings and goes to Araby, a bazaar sponsored by the church, to buy her a present when the young girl says she can't go. He tells her he'll buy her something if he goes to the bazaar.
The young narrator expects the bazaar to be magical, a place that reflects his feelings for the girl and his enthusiasm for his religion. He has an "epiphany" after he arrives, a moment of insight where he understands the actuality of his feelings for the young girl. Once he understands his feelings for her, he then sees Araby for what it is, just a place to buy trinkets. He feels angry at himself and probably is disappointed, but this is part of his transformation from innocence to a more mature understanding of what it's all about. He expects one thing before he gets to Araby, but his "epiphany" allows him to see the reality of what it really is.
What irony is present in "Araby"?
Though irony is not the most dominant element of "Araby," it (irony) does play a part in the story. One place you can see irony is in the tension between appearance and reality, and between appearance and vision. The story starts with the line " NORTH RICHMOND STREET being blind…" Well, it is "blind" in the sense of being a dead end, but also in the sense of people not seeing things clearly there. The houses stare at one another, even though one of them is empty; the narrator seems to encounter only a symbolic façade at the end of the story. Likewise, there is irony in the distance between the anticipated wonder of the bazaar and the narrator's disappointment at the end of the story, where he finds himself " as a creature driven and derided by vanity."