What does light and dark symbolize in the story "Araby"?

In "Araby," dark symbolizes the reality of life in Dublin. Light, in contrast, symbolizes the beauty of illusions and dreams.

This symbolism is made more evident by analyzing the use of the words "dark" and "light" in the story. Dark is associated with the concrete reality of Dublin: the "dark" gardens; the "dark," foul-smelling stables behind the houses; the "dark" house where Mangan's sister lives. The symbolism of darkness intensifies and comes to a crescendo as the young narrator faces the grim, drab reality of the Araby bazaar. By the time the boy arrives, the entrance to the hall is dark, and much of the hall itself is in darkness, ready to close. As this darkness encompasses the bazaar, the boy comes to realize that he was foolishly vain for thinking he could find beauty and romance in Dublin.

In contrast, light symbolizes illusion. Not surprisingly, light is most often associated with Mangan's sister, a desired figure who takes on a dream-like character in the boy's imagination. The boy often sees Mangan's sister with light falling on her from the open doorway of her house or from a street lamp. This light symbolizes the glow of fantasy that the narrator projects upon her. But the boy ultimately realizes she is part of the fantasy he has concocted—the fantasy that has spurred him to go to Araby to attain a romantic gift for her. As he comes to this realization, the "light . . . [goes] out" in the hall where the bazaar is being held.

Indeed, dark is an apt symbol of the grim reality of life in Dublin, whereas light is an apt symbol for the boy's dreams of a better life, including the promise of romance.

What is the significance of the light and dark imagery contrast in "Araby"?

In "Araby," light seems to symbolize innocence and the hopefulness that attends it, while dark stands for the state of having lost one's innocence and the cynicism that such a state breeds.  When the narrator describes his boyhood, playing outside at night, he describes the darkness of the city streets about him but focuses on the way their "bodies glowed" as well as how Mangan's sister's "figure [was] defined by the light" from the door.  Though they are surrounded by darkness, the children are still innocent and therefore they are characterized by light.  Further, Mangan's sister, the subject of the narrator's young love, is also characterized by light because of his intense hope surrounding his feelings for her and the happy possibilities he associates with those feelings, especially after she speaks with him about Araby.

Though it is late and dark when the narrator finally leaves for the Araby bazaar, and though he is frustrated by his uncle's tardiness and the slowness of the train, he notices the streetlights "glaring with gas," the "twinkling river," and the "lighted dial of a clock."  Again, he is surrounded by darkness but only seems to notice the light because he is so wrapped up in his hopefulness about finding a gift for his love. However, when he gets inside the bazaar, most of the hall is "in darkness" and he goes through the one open stall's "dark entrance," looking at the disappointing wares before moving on.  The bazaar was really only full of English teacups and vases, staffed by a young English woman who seemed more interested in flirting than paying attention to her young customer.  Finally, the "upper part of the hall [became] completely dark," and standing in the darkness, the narrator has an epiphany: that the world doesn't care about him and his love, that love is not what makes the world turn.  Up until now, he was mostly aware of the light, he now becomes very aware of the dark, and he cries to think of his "vanity," that the dark world would make room for his feelings.  Therefore, the contrast between light and dark, and especially how much of each the boy seemed to notice at various moments, helps to develop the theme of the story.  

What does light represent in Joyce's story "Araby"?

Light in "Araby" represents illusion, spirituality, other-worldliness, and transcendence (a certain removal) from the dismal present.

In writing about Dublin, James Joyce rarely omits depictions of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church on its residents. He also describes their Irish proclivity for giving certain elements of the Church's beliefs the quality of myth. Thus, light in "Araby" carries with its symbolism something of the religious: an aureole surrounds Mangan's sister as she stands in the doorway like a vision of a saint; the youth lies in a religious supplicant's prostration on the floor in both carnal and saintly worship for the girl as he fantasizes about her.

This illusory light of holiness is like the myth of the "holy grail" that the knight seeks; for instance, when the youth accompanies his mother to the grocer's on Saturdays, he senses both religious feeling and carnal desire: 

...that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes....My eyes were often full of tears...and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom.....But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires.

So infatuated with this girl is the youth that he loses interest in all else. Still, he does look forward to seeing the bazaar to which he invited Mangan's sister, even though she cannot come. He makes a promise that he will purchase something for her. Unfortunately, his uncle returns home late, and when the youth is finally handed some money, his dark journey to Araby marks the end of the illuminated fantasy of childhood.

When he arrives, "the upper part of the hall was now completely dark." At this point reality crushes his illusions and the youth has the epiphany that he has been deceived by his romantic absorption in his own feelings:  

Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.

Ironically, then, the youth has clearer vision in the darkness than when light shrouds his images. 

Can you find an example of the "light vs. dark" theme symbolizing good and evil in "Araby"?

It is important to note that Catholicism is evoked multiples times in the text (the dead priest, the convent, the fact that the story is set in Ireland, etc.), so religious imagery will likely be Catholic in nature.

The most obvious example of dark imagery referring to religion occurs at the end of the story:

I heard a voice call from one end of the gallery that the light was out. The upper part of the hall was now completely dark. Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.

All of the narrator's hopes of impressing the girl he likes were tied to being able to bring her something from the bazaar. Darkness is often symbolically related to the religious or Catholic concept of despair (the point at which the person has lost God's grace or the promise of heaven). As the narrator is plunged into darkness, he loses the last chance to purchase a souvenir for the girl, and he is left with only his darkest sinful emotions.

As a sort of counterpoint to the religious darkness, the language describing Mangan's sister often uses imagery filled with light. For example, consider the following passage:

Or if Mangan's sister came out on the doorstep to call her brother in to his tea, we watched her from our shadow peer up and down the street. We waited to see whether she would remain or go in and, if she remained, we left our shadow and walked up to Mangan's steps resignedly. She was waiting for us, her figure defined by the light from the half-opened door.

The boys are literally in the shadow (darkness), while Mangan's sister is illuminated by the light of the open door. The fact that this girl represents light makes the ending even more poignant. The narrator is left in darkness and emotional despair when he loses the literal light as well as the metaphorical light (represented by the opportunity to impress the sister).

Can you find an example of the "light vs. dark" theme symbolizing good and evil in "Araby"?

When the narrator eventually makes it to the Araby bazaar, he notices that half the lights are out in the gallery. He listens to the English girl flirting with the men at her booth; he hears one of them accuse another of lying. Again, he remarks on the "dark entrance to the stall." Finally, the narrator wanders away from her stall, and he finds that the main part of the hall is totally dark now. Looking up into the pitch black, he says, "I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger." In this way, then, sinfulness does seem to be tied to darkness. Vanity is a sin, and the narrator realizes that his hopes that the world would somehow make way for his feelings for Mangan's sister were, indeed, vain. He seems, in this moment, to lose his innocence, a state of maturity also associated with sinfulness, and because he's standing in the darkened hall, the darkness is ultimately tied to this loss.

How does James Joyce juxtaposes the images of darkness and light in "Araby" and what is the significance of his contrast?

Throughout this fascinating short story it is well worth the effort to trace imagery of light and dark and how they are contrasted. It is key that as this short story progresses light is always associated with the hope of the narrator in securing the affections of Mangan's sister, despite the darkness surrounding him:

One evening I went into the back drawing-room in which the priest had died. It was a dark raining evening and there was no sound in the house... Some distant lamp or lighted window gleamed below me.

Here then, the narrator is alone with his feelings but despite the encroaching gloom of the setting, the "distant lamp" allows him to nourish and sustain his hopes regarding Mangan's sister.

It is also important to note that Mangan's sister is always described as being framed by light:

The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing.

Such descriptions bestow an etheral, ephemeral, almost angelic character upon Mangan's sister, associating her with the "light" imagery in the rest of the tale and the foolish, romantic naivety of the narrator.

How chilling, then, and significant, that the tale ends with the bazaar being plunged into darkness, symbolically indicating the snuffing out of the narrator's hopes as he is confronted with the reality of his hopes and actions. Light and darkness are therefore symbols of the chief opposition in this tale: romanticism vs reality, with reality well and truly winning out at the end.

How does Joyce use darkness to reinforce theme and characterization in "Araby"?

Darkness casts a pall over the life of The Dubliners, and in "Araby" it creates a bleakness in the lives of the characters, offering them no escape from their drab and closed lives; thus, it symbolizes the trapped, dull, and stultifying lives in the characterization of Irish Catholics who live in Dublin, as well as suggesting the theme of disillusionment.

Inspired by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, James Joyce responded to the "defiant realism" of Ibsen's vision, believing that "out of the dreary sameness of existence, a measure of dramatic life may be drawn." Truly, this is what Joyce does in his story, "Araby." The boy lives on a street that has a blind end, a lost past with an uninhabited house and the few remaining possessions of the deceased priest who has lived in the boy's home. He plays on "dark muddy lanes" that lie in the back of houses where "dark dripping gardens" lie and "dark odorous stables" hold the horses groomed by a coachman.

From within his house, the boy lies on the floor and looks under the blinds that are pulled down, and catches a glimpse of Mangan's sister "defined by the light of the half-opened door." From this perspective, his young desire is stimulated as he watches the girl swing her body and the "soft rope of her hair." She becomes for him a beatific vision much like the paintings of the Madonna, and he worships her. For, on Saturday evenings when he accompanies his aunt to market, as he lifts the box of groceries, he imagines himself a knight who seeks the grail:"I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes," he declares in his excited state.

But, when he finally talks with her about Araby and the bazaar, she says that she cannot go because she is attending a religious retreat, all the while turning silver bracelets on her arm, reminding the boy of the mundane and material. Still, the boy notices that the light from a lamp on the other side of where they stand shines on the curve of her neck as he promises to bring her something if he goes to the bazaar. 

Finally, the day of the bazaar arrives, although the boy must wait for his uncle to return before he can depart on the train. When the uncle returns later than usual because he has been to a tavern, he jokes with the boy and finally relinquishes some florins. But, it is after nine when the boy takes a lonely train in the dark. This departure at such a late time is meaningful as the boy travels from the deluded hope of youthfulness to the disappointment and disillusionment of reality and maturity. His arrival at the bazaar places the sacredness of his imaginary love and romantic visions against the incongruity of the secular reality as the merchants count their money and the shop girls engage in trivial chatter.  

So, the boy's evening journey to a bazaar marks the end of his childish fantasy. Disillusioned, the boy gazes into the darkness, perceiving the foolishness of his quest. He feels like

a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.

Indeed, with "defiant realism" Joyce brings his story to its conclusion as Mangan's sister is no longer "shrouded in mystery," but is just there in his neighborhood. Restricted by his own vain desires, the boy realizes his vanity and his eyes burn from his sense of loss and his foolish self-deception. From the darkness of his disillusionment, now the young man can see in the light that he has been childishly deluded.

Discuss the symbolism of light and darkness in "Araby".

I think you have touched upon a very fundamental part of the symbolism of this story. What fascinates me is that the story begins with lots of images of light and then as we move ever closer to the crushing epiphany that the narrator experiences, we have more images of darkness.

Key to the images of light is the presentation of Mangan's sister, the focus of the narrator's Romantic dreams:

She was waiting for us, her figure defined by the light from the half-opened door.

The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing.

Both of these images use light to present Mangan's sister as an almost angelic figure - a suitable receptacle for all the boy's desires and Romantic dreams.

However, as the narrator nears Araby, we see more and more images of darkness:

Nearly all the stalls were closed and the greater part of teh hall was in darkness.

The upper part of the hall was now completely dark.

It is entirely fitting then that the narrator should experience his epiphany about the vanity of his hopes and life in complete darkness, for he has had his illusions and hopes cruelly ripped away from him, and all but darkness remains:

Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.

Images of light and darkness thus of course play a central role in establishing and supporting the theme of this excellent short story.