How Does the Narrator in ‘Araby’ Feel About His Home?
Araby is a notable literary work by James Joyce. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of Araby.
Answer
How does the narrator in ‘Araby’ feel about his home?
Or Comment on the narrator’s feelings about his home in ‘Araby.’
In James Joyce’s (1882-1941) “Araby” (1914), the narrator feels trapped and unhappy in his home. He lives on North Richmond Street, which he describes as a “blind” street, meaning it is at a quiet corner of the city. This reflects how he feels about his life—closed off and without excitement.
Houses and Street: The houses on North Richmond Street are all described as “brown,” a color that symbolizes dullness and monotony.
The other houses of the street,… gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces.
His surroundings seem lifeless and unchanging. The environment adds to his desire to escape.
The narrator also describes his house as old. For example, the former tenant of the house was a priest who died there. The priest left behind books and a rusty bicycle pump. These details make the atmosphere of the house old, rusty, dull, and gloomy. The narrator doesn’t seem to find joy or inspiration in his home.
Dull and Boring: To the narrator, his home and the neighborhood are part of a dull and boring world. He wants something more exciting and meaningful, which is why he becomes so infatuated with Mangan’s sister and the Araby bazaar. These things offer him an escape from the ordinary. However, by the end of the story, he realizes that escape is not as easy as he imagined.
In conclusion, the narrator’s home represents the mundane (ordinary/every day) reality of his life. He is desperate to leave behind his home but cannot truly escape.