Student Question
What are four connections, including religion and Irish nationalism, between the poem "The Arab's Farewell To His Horse" and Joyce's "Araby"?
Quick answer:
The main connecting point between the poem "The Arab's Farewell To His Horse" by Caroline Elizabeth and "Araby" by James Joyce is the uncle’s recital of the poem. Three other points concern love, fantasy, and disillusion. Religion plays into Joyce’s story through the narrator’s worship of the girl, associating his activities with a crusade. Irish nationalism is associated with a ballad sung in the street.
In James Joyce’s story, the narrator’s uncle was supposed to take his nephew to the bazaar. He comes home very late, having forgotten his commitment. The uncle probably thinks of the poem “The Arab's Farewell to His Horse” because the bazaar’s name of “Araby” reminds him of the “Arab” in the title. He recites the poem as he sends the boy off alone to the bazaar with a florin to spend.
The poem’s contents do not literally connect with the story, but several figurative or thematic connections can be ascertained. The poem is about a man who pines over a beloved horse that he sold. He continues to love the animal although he knows it belongs to another. The theme of love connects with Joyce’s story because the narrator is infatuated with Mangan’s sister.
In addition, the theme of dreams or fantasies connects the two works. In...
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his dreams, the poem’s speaker can continue to feel that he is with the horse. For the story’s narrator, any relationship between him and the girl is his own fantasy. His preoccupation with her—even before they speak—has religious overtones, as he sees her in a halo-like light such as the Virgin Mary or a saint would have.
A third point of connection is disillusionment with reality. The man in the poem wakes from his dreams to realize his horse is gone. The boy in the story arrives at the bazaar too late and realizes that his shopping quest was as futile as his imagining that the girl liked him.
More generally, religion is a constant motif in Joyce’s story. The boy wonders about the priest who formerly lived in their home, and when he arrives at Araby, it reminds him of a church. He also enjoys thinking of his mundane activities as having a more holy purpose, comparing himelf to a knight who bears a “chalice safely through a throng of foes.”
Religion is also associated with the boy’s neighborhood, as he mentions the Christian school that he attends and the retreat that the girl will attend at a convent. Irish nationalism arises in his description of the street-singers, who sing “a ballad about the troubles in our native land.”