In James Joyce's "Araby", an arcane glimpse into the life of a young boy is revealed as he moves from a state of naivety to awareness of his life. We watch as he takes himself through a journey with a fateful ending in which he realizes his disillusionment with love, adults and the world he lives in. The boy is a representative of each of us as we mature in our dark, dirty world and stop looking. to life through the rose-colored glass. Joyce incorporates images of light and darkness into the boy's journey to reveal how we, like the boy, are disillusioned by the light and when we discover the true darkness of our world our innocence is lost. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Joyce begins the story by describing the naive life in which we, as human beings, develop our childhood. By exposing the dark and sad environment in which the boy resides we begin to perceive the closed-mindedness we initially have towards our world. The dark environment was a comfortable environment for the boy, because it was what he had become accustomed to and familiar with. He and his friends played in the "dark dripping gardens" (106), along the "dark, muddy streets" (106), and in the shadows of the city with little fear. The darkness and its shadows represent the people of the town who have already experienced disillusionment. The boys, surrounded by the shadows of people, were very much alive and their youth and "splendour" (106) tell us that their souls had not yet been suppressed by the ways of the world. This disillusionment is a common deception that a person must face in his life before awakening to the realization that there is more to his life than meets the eye. In "Araby," the boy begins to open up to the idea that there might be something more than just what is in his little world when he sees his friend's sister, Mangan. He was impressed by her majestic splendor as the light moved away from her and invited him to venerate her and her essence. Here the boy began to unconsciously separate himself from his childish nature and inherit the adult attributes of love and adoration that one gains as one matures. The girl, in his mind, was an object of devotion. The boy began to acquire a false feeling towards her, as we all often do when we find our first love, and developed an idolatrous stature of her in his mind. Although he was aware of his feelings for her, he had difficulty getting close to Mangan's sister, even if she was only a few meters away. Instead, as he watched the light surrounding the girl, he hid from her sight in the comfortable shadows of the night. His withdrawal conveys the intimidation one faces when he sees all that is great before him, but is unable to command himself to move forward with the feelings that excite him. This abandonment, in its familiarity with darkness, is the first step towards observing innocence and breaking down the barriers that hold the individual in their protected circle. The boy was afraid to approach Mangan's sister because he didn't know how to understand the emotions of love and sexuality he felt towards her. He longed to get closer to her, but didn't know how to tell her about his "confused adoration" (107). She expressed this need to try something new and break out of her own naïve understanding of love when wandering around the dark living room of her home on a dreary, rainy evening. It is here that Joyce reveals the turning point reached by the boy and a person when he decides he wants to advance into the unknown territories of love. The boy chooses to face his friend's sister andthis love found with eyes that do not see. When he went to the back room, where the priest had died, to think of her, "some distant lamp or window shone beneath (him) and (he) was grateful that he could see so little. All (his) senses seemed to want to reveal you " (108). Part of the problem with infatuation is that the object of your adoration is unaware of your existence and its meaning in your life. It is a form of blindness. The one who is infatuated is blind to the fact that he may not be the center of the other person's universe. While this happens often, it certainly was in this boy's story. So he forced himself not to see because he needs to be blind in order to experience the exquisite pains of first love. It's all part of growing up and making personal decisions rather than depending on the advice of others. With a blind mindset, the boy finally found the courage to talk to Mangan's sister and got further lost. his ardor. In their brief conversation he discovered that she wanted to go to Araby, a bazaar outside the city where the boy lived, but was unable to do so. Once again he wrapped himself in his fantasy of love and succeeded. He didn't even realize the tones of envy and bitterness that the girl expressed to him. She said, "It is good" (108) for him to go to Arabia but the boy, being blind, did not notice it. Instead he attempted to please his idol and win her over by declaring that he would purchase something for her in Arabia, an attempt to buy her love. During the days leading up to his trip to Arabia, Joyce reveals the discontent that began to arise as the romantic pursuit began to take over the boy's daily reality, destroying his ability to function. In the story the boy began to fear the world he lived in. He didn't care about the things that previously esteemed him, such as school and studying. His thoughts wandered as he dreamed of the day he could leave his city and go to the bazaar. All the actions he normally performed seemed to be "an ugly and monotonous child's play" (109). There's a hint of new understanding here, as the boy seems critical of his past; at the same time he seems to condemn his own feelings, which he still combines with the "serious work of life" (108-109). On the day of his departure, the boy was filled with pleasant emotions. He couldn't sit still and carried his excitement throughout the house. The author shows how one separates from their awareness as the boy walked through the "empty and gloomy rooms" of his house and felt relieved that brighter and more stimulating ones awaited him only miles away. His trip, however, was delayed due to the recklessness of his uncle, who arrived home late, drunk and oblivious to his nephew's early trip. As a result the boy awakened from the disillusionment he had acquired towards adults so far into his life. When the boy finally reached Araby it was late and he feared it would be closed. He entered the gates of the bazaar and found that almost all the stalls were closed and surrounded by the dark, fascinating and wonderful place he had imagined it to be. It was as sad and dark as the city he lived in. Market disillusionment is similar to the consequences one faces when the chosen path does not work as expected. The boy continued throughout the market, hoping to find something to take with him to please his love. He examined objects in a booth and listened to the conversation between two Englishmen and a woman. He listened to their vulgar jokes and was further disappointed by the nature of adults. After a few minutes he decided that his visit was useless, he turned to go home and the.