Barry Pockrus

Araby originally feels like a coming of age tale focused of an unnamed protagonist. It has a common, possibly generic plot of the protagonist trying to attain a girls love through a journey. However, when analyzing it, it can be stated that Araby could also be a journey about faith and religion. The fact that the protagonist is unnamed, as well as the love interest, displays the fact that Joyce wanted the character to be a secondary focus. Furthermore, Joyce plays around with lighting descriptions within the scenes and the characters that occupy them resembling sin, in the form of desire, and virtue. While, for many, the plot seems vague, it does have a deeper meaning. This is a key reason for its popularity in literature.