Student Question

In "Araby," what is the significance of "yellowed pages" in relation to the story?

Quick answer:

The books were yellowed as they had been left in the attic of the house.

Expert Answers

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At the beginning of the story, the narrator mentions that a former tenant of his family's house, a priest, had left three books. The third book was the "Memoir of Vidocq", the memoirs of a French policeman and master of disguise. The boy says he liked this book the best because its "leaves were yellow". He was probably attracted to the book for two reasons. First it looked old and mysterious and secondly, it contained the kind of story which would interest a young boy. Also, these books are not what a person would expect a Catholic priest to have in his library. So if this priest has non−religious literature in his library, then how devout can an average churchgoer be expected to be? This turns out to be the case for the narrator, who confuses religious idealism with romance. He has not yet learned how to separate the religious teachings of his school with the reality of his secular life. Part of his understanding at the end of the story involves his finally
separating those two aspects of his life. Thus the "yellow pages" are the first clue that Araby will have learn the difference between reality and his romantic ideals.

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