Witnessing the End to Innocence

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Araby is about an unnamed speaker, who, by hints of the story, is a male
student residing in North Richmond Street.  It focuses on the protagonist’s
sudden realization, revelation and awakening about life.  It is about a boy
discovering reality as something disappointing from his ideals and fantasies. 


The protagonist directs
the perception of the story in his own boy eyes.  To him, North Richmond Street
is a "blind" and "quiet street".  The other buildings are described as having
"brown imperturbable faces" (paragraph 1).  There is a sense of decadence in the
boy’s description of the living place.  This places even though "the most
hostile to romance" (paragraph 5) is the setting of the boy’s first love.  The
object of his affection is Mangan’s sister, and for some time he had followed
her in a voyeur manner.  The boy is clearly overwhelmed by his new emotions of
infatuations, "yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood"
(paragraph 4).  The following passage presents the overflow of indescribable
emotions: 

Her name sprang to my lips at
moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My
eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from
my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom. I thought little of the
future. I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke
to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a
harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires" 


 

            This
passage too will reveal the author’s choice about point of view and how this
develops several aspects of different elements of the story. 

            The
protagonist has been clearly blinded by love and instant devotion just from the
excerpt.  It compels people to do things spontaneously.  In this case, the boy
promises the girl a souvenir gift from a bazaar she wanted to go to.  He looked
forward to this fair but he was not taken seriously by the uncle he was supposed
to collect money from.  When the boy had gone to the bazaar, it was already
closing.  The boy felt a sense of defeat and disappointment when one of the
store owners, a young lady, had been engrossed in conversation with two men and
did not appear interested in him.  This is perhaps when reality had struck him,
for having expected, but not being able to perform the task.  

The boy’s perception of
the world reveals the innocence and isolation as well as his growth from his
experience of first love.  His opinions shift from the ideal to the real, which
disappoints the boy.  Thus one witnesses how the boy falls in love in the midst
of an impassive city.  From his point of view, Mangan’s sister is a divine
character.  His magical, mystical, fantastic dreams would be interrupted by how
his uncle took long in going home to bring him money.  Consequently, the bazaar
was already closing when he arrived.  The young lady behind a store paid him
little attention which enhances this sense of being dejected.  

Initially, the world
appeared ideal thanks to Mangan’s sister.  The boy saw the milieu positively
despite having unpleasant odours or depressing architectures.  There was the
mention of the benevolent priest.  Then the boy’s entire world becomes to be
Mangan’s sister.  Clearly from the excerpt above, Mangan’s sister is illuminated
with a light that outshines others such as the pious Mercer and the working
uncle who delayed his trip to the bazaar.  The bazaar presented a reality bite
which interrupts the boy’s romantic views of the world.  There were only people
who did not sympathize with him or love.  They did not care beyond financial
returns.  He realizes the world is not as magical and fantastic as it appears,
but in fact it is so engrossed by material things.  

The point of view
emphasizes disillusionment and realization in a manner that directly involves
the reader as the story proceeds in the eyes of the boy.  By allowing readers to
see through the boy’s eyes, the ending may have a stronger impact as the
audience is allowed to feel his disappointment and witness first-hand his
awakening to reality.  Eventually, expectations which are detailed by the
lengthy passage above, had not been met.  There is a change of the character on
the boy before and after the bazaar.  Prior to the bazaar, it is well evident
that the boy would be incoherent and afloat.  Post-Bazaar, there is a bitterness
and cynicism through anguish and anger that takes over the love and overflowing
devotion of the boy to the girl.  Any other Point of view would not have been
effective in sending this message across.  The reader would be kept outside
instead of inside the psyche of the boy.  It is important to emphasize that the
story is about the boy’s awakening and this will need to be undergone in a
psychological, mental or internal sense rather outside.  In this manner, the
reader is able to witness and undergo the boy’s experience.  The point of view
brings significant impact and allows the message of the story to be communicated
and to resonate clearly.

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Witnessing the End to Innocence

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