CONTENTSPage Thesis Statement and Outline................................................................................. 02 I. The Domination of Darkness .............................................................................. 03 Đỗ Kim Ngân ................................................................................................03-05 Trần Thị Thu Hiền .........................................................................................05-06 II. The Indifference Attitude ................................................................................. 07 Lâm Thị Phương Nga ....................................................................................07-08 Đào Ngọc Ánh ...............................................................................................08-10 III. The Bare Surroundings Together With the Empty and Slow Train ............ 11 Đỗ Thị Hằng ..................................................................................................11-13 IV. The Unilateral Love ......................................................................................... 14 Trần Đức Minh ..............................................................................................14-15 Nguyễn Kiều Trang .......................................................................................15-16 Appendix: Araby by James Joyce 1 IV. The boy kept cherishing a unilateral love to a girl and dare not to bare his heart. lukewarm stagnant and sultry life of Dubliners in 1890s. it can be seen that the people at that time seemed to be pushed down by an invisible complex which was too sultry to pursue their desires and express their feelings. The indifference attitude among the characters in the story showed a lukewarm life. II. The bare surroundings together with the empty and slow train show us a boring and dull life without any motivation. III.Thesis statement: The short story Araby by James Joyce (1882-1941) depicts a picture which extends to us a profound impression about a gloomy. The domination of darkness throughout the story seemed to portray a gloomy life of Dubliners at that time and to foreshadow an unhappy ending. 2 . To some extent. OUTLINE I. “quiet street”(1). From the first sentence. And like many famous writers in 20th century. which was introduced as a “blind”. and frustrated with his frivolity of money. drinking habits and strained relationship with his brother. ĐỖ KIM NGÂN The gloomy picture in the story was first portrayed through the overwhelming of darkness from the beginning until the end. lukewarm. I. He lived in the street. Dublin in 1894. Joyce is a very influential writer in the avant-garde of the early 20th century. at the turn of the twentieth century. In addition. Ireland. told from the perspective of a young boy. Like the rest of Dubliners. belongs to Dubliners (1914) – the first set of James Joyce. The title “Araby” is taken from the real festival which came to Dublin in 1894 when the author was only 12 years old. The opening scenes of the story described the young boy’s overall view of the world. the image of the “blind end” (3) illustrated the darkness and the somberness of the city and the citizens’ life at that time and suggested that there was nowhere that the boy and his friends could go except for dreary houses and streets 3 . The image of an “uninhabited” and “detached” house (2. stagnant and sultry life of Dubliners in 1890s. The collection Dubliners was a portrait of life in Dublin.Araby is considered as one of the best short stories by James Joyce. the short story "Araby" depicts a picture which extends to us a profound impression about a gloomy. we can see his gloomy background. he did not have a smooth life. The domination of darkness throughout the story seemed to portray a gloomy life of Dubliners at that time and to foreshadow an unhappy ending. Austria where he lived for quite a long time feeling there was no position for him. Araby (1905). 3) from the others in the street created an image of isolation for this house as well as for the boy who felt alone and detached from his neighbors. James Joyce wrote Araby in Trieste. a famous Irish novelist and poem. named North Richmond in Ireland's largest city. This is a blind world. Joyce used such setting to express his intention when he wrote the stories “Dubliners”. In the third paragraph. Darkness continued to reappear “in the short days of winter”. however. the boy chose to hide in the shadow. choosing the gloomy setting to be the home of the young boy. Joyce's "Araby" written by Mahmood Azizi. The boy in this paragraph was as blind as his world. “The other houses of the street” gazing at one another with “brown imperturbable faces” were “conscious of decent lives” (3. The hopelessness and the dull life of the boy’s were clearly reflected through the houses that contained the sense of the dead present and lost past.5). but the boys must still play in “dark muddy lanes”(20). Joyce made the boy’s life particularly and the Dubliners’ lives generally become more vivid at the time of 1900s. When the night fell. The next sentence seemed to foreshadow the entire story. In the blind and dark surroundings like this. The light from the kitchen windows only filled the street when boys returned. line 6). This action made the darkness again cover all the light which had just appeared in a short time. in “dark dripping gardens” (21) near “dark odorous stables” (22) and “ashpits” (22). He wanted to “write a chapter in the moral history” of his country and he chose Dublin city for the scene “because that city seemed to me the centre of paralysis”(The Archetypal Myth of the Quest in J. only the boys’ games and shouts “echoed the silent street” (19) and made the story have some breaks . Actually. 4. The boys’ life was the same as what it was suggested in the first paragraph. Scanning through the story.here (3). the narrator described the depressing atmosphere. streetlights were but “feeble lanterns” (18) in the somberness of the “dark muddy lanes”(20). the readers could easily see that all the scenes in this story often happened in the dark setting. They could not go anywhere except this stagnant city. “Dusk fell before we had well eaten our dinner” (15) showed the readers the picture of a day began at dusk and continued through the evening during this season. The domination of darkness was emphasized by the image of pale light in this paragraph. 4 . para. the destination of story and also the destination of the boy was completely full of darkness at the end. The experiences of the boy in "Araby" of James Joyce show us that life sometimes does not happen as people expect. 137. Once again darkness encroached and it was likely that the hope of the boy would disappear. Why he kept that hope? With the hope bringing back a present for Mangan’s sister. In this bloomy scenery. and predicted the unhappy endings of the young boy’s life. and it created some small hope for the boy of having something as a present for Mangan’s sister: “A few people were gathered about the stalls which were still open.The domination of darkness in the “Araby” represented the stagnation and isolation of the young boy in Dublin as well as Dubliners at that time. 5 . he went through the darkness to go to this bazaar. Araby would completely close. over which the words Café Chantant were written in coloured lamps. Darkness appeared everywhere. light still appeared. By using dark and gloomy references. When he came to Araby. and 139). two men were counting money on a salver” (136. The author‘s use of dark made the boy's reality of living in the gloomy town of Araby more vivid. Araby was a bazaar happened during 14th to 19th May 1894. and in this darkness we predicted that nothing happy would happen. Before a curtain. so in this situation if light appeared it would be very meaningful because if there was no light. In the boy’s hope: Araby would be a place of light and it would still open. “greater part of the hall was in darkness” (135). and Araby. TRẦN THỊ THU HIỀN Although darkness dominated throughout the story. 138. the boy still kept a hope for going to Araby despite of late time and slow train. Joyce expressed vividly the depressing atmosphere in the bleak city. the girl he loved. Darkness dominated throughout the story while pale light just appeared at some places. the first paragraph). scenery surrounding them is also unhappy. 6 . This was the time when the boy realized that life was not as good as what he had dreamed. but in his eyes life was full of darkness. A brief history of Dublin.localhistories. which totally covered Araby “The upper part of the hall was now completely dark” (161 and 162). It was also a gloomy life of people in Dublin at that time when there was a terrible poverty in Dublin (http://www. Life is not as good as what they expect. It means that at that time accordance with completely domination of darkness. what bring them disappointed feeling. he came back with nothing in his hand except for darkness. Reading the story.Despite of how hard he tried to get there. lights totally disappeared. the hope still had but disappeared at the end of the story. the most beautiful period of human’s life. At the beginning of the story we forecast that there was nothing happy at the end of the story. When life has nothing happy. through the way the author describes the surroundings we can see darkness appeared through the story. The boy who was at the age of teenager.org/dublin. and my eyes burned with anguish and anger” (163 and 164). The boy’s life plunged in dark.html. Dublin in the 19th century. and it was true. He came back disappointedly: “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity. Ireland by Tim Lambert. The market was such a mess with drunken man jostling. All these people made the boy felt as if he had got into a “throng of foes” (47). Yet. but also among those of the same one. Reading the story. women bargaining. James Joyce gave readers a feeling of unconcern by mentioning “brown imperturbable faces” (4 and 5) of houses on the street. The indifference appeared not only among people of different families. The boy first informed his uncle about his travel to Araby on a Saturday night-on weekend night when his uncle was free from work. The indifference attitude among the characters in the story showed a lukewarm life. she did almost nothing to reply his heart. except for saying a few words “at last” (60). Right at the beginning of the story. together with his aunt. laborers cursing. the sense of unconcern gradually grew. and shop-boys shrilling. should have figured out that he had special feelings to her. The indifference hurt the boy even more when his uncle came back home late at the night of Araby.II. after “every morning” (33) the boy followed and passed her. One week 7 . Mangan’s sister. The indifference among people got stronger when the boy went to the market on Saturday evenings. LÂM THỊ PHƯƠNG NGA Dubliners’ life at that time seemed to be rather lukewarm through the indifferent attitude among the characters in the story. where everyone kept doing what they wanted and just ignored others. There were only a few people in the bazaar. And. already. and his wife said to him energetically-“Can’t you give him the money and let him go? You’ve kept him late enough as it is. He “felt the house in bad humor” (90). the boy could not bear it anymore.“Yes. his uncle got upset -“fussing at the hallstand” (86). finally his uncle came home.later. Then the boy had to answer two times before getting a florin. And then he refused to give the boy money by saying “The people are in bed and after their first sleep now” (113). I know!” (88). Responding to the boy’s sincere request. At that time. with a discouraging voice. let the boy wait in vain for so long. He just said sorry to the boy after the boy got upset -“I did not smile” (114). The boy had informed and reminded his uncle about the bazaar. on Saturday morning. he found the air “pitilessly raw” (90). 8 . but he still forgot and returned home late. and just gave up in anger. boy. Some days ago. though it was a charity one. his heart “misgave” (91) him. the boy seriously reminded his uncle that he “wished to go to the bazaar in the evening” (85). He could have given money to his nephew sooner.” (115). He simply did not care! The indifference continued when the boy came to Araby. The uncle remembered nothing about the boy’s sincere request and asked once again where he was going. The uncle’s reaction left him in such a mood. “at last” (60) Mangan’s sister spoke to him. And the indifference got its climax when the lady at the stall served him as if she was doing something she did not want to. and this time. and answered without any enthusiasm . rather than with warm hospitality as often seen in a charity bazaar. “He had forgotten” (112). A question left in the reader’s mind about the young boy’s love is whether his love is “love” or temporary indulgence. the people mostly live for themselves. talk about themselves and ignore what the others think. They are the people who can feed you. the boy and the saleswoman make an impression of indifference and lukewarmth to the reader. the boy and the girl Mangan. The lukewarmth of society spread into each house. spending your tuition or buying you some new clothes. Because of so many things which they have to do. it is really not easy to take care of somebody who is not “true” child. In reality. they do not have time to think of anybody except themselves. they will not the person who sit beside you. Unfortunately. even living with true parents. sympathize. the child can be illtreated and not enough interest. Firstly. anyway. Secondly. from the beginning. James gave him a love. with his uncle and aunt. Love is wonderful thing but sometimes. The reader cannot know why the boy does not live with his parents. It is exactly real life but anything else suppresses the feeling and interest among the people in society. it becomes a pragmatic one with indifference. the reader can have a feeling of totally unhappy life with full treatment. the age of breaking everything without thinking and full of youth’s energy.need have more cares from family’s member. sometimes. this is not a biological mother and father. encourage and ask you that “Are you ok?”. think of what they want. it makes the connection loose. The relationships between the boy and his uncle.ĐÀO NGỌC ÁNH The indifference attitude among the characters in the story showed a lukewarm life in Dublin. However. 9 . as in other societies. The young boy’s life in the society where the people only care for individual’s thought and benefit. The lukewarm atmosphere not only exists outside but inside home. James Joyce puts the boy in a house with non-parent people. A boy in the age of new feeling and desire. There is not because the salesgirl does not have that goods or need sell goods. as well as the author-James Joyce. her attitude and her behavior show that she knows.whether Mangan. the lukewarmth of surrounding people. Overall. Her indifferent attitude to him is because she is shy. talks with him because of love or she just takes advantage of the young boy’s naivety. the more lukewarmth he receives. it seems to care for money rather than charity! It is very funny and bitter as well! The young boy in “Araby”. On the contrary. There is no warm welcome. she does not like him or she makes for herself a haughty cover? The reader cannot find out it. 10 . we only see that the girl has not ever interested in the boy’s love. the girl he loves. it simply is just contempt! Because the boy seems too young and no money! Although no one wants to welcome a child with a few shilling in hand. oh my God! It is just a charitable bazaar! So. nothing happened. The boy should have welcomed by the seller when going to Araby. There is not the reason that she does not know it. It is not similar with the way sellers often do. Finally. James lets the readers feel the lukewarmth of Dublin society which is portrayed through the saleswoman. yet. if it exactly is a charitable one. That indifferent attitude unintentionally makes the boy fall deeply in her love.spent his childhood in a stuffy society and a restricted colonial culture of Ireland. there is no smile. even one time. One more time. the more love the boy gives. teases him for a gift. we can realize a truth that. James Joyce had declared in a letter “My intention was to write a chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene because that city seemed to me the center of paralysis”. however she seemed to ignore it as child’s play. a boring life. being blind. ĐỖ THỊ HẰNG In the picture that James Joyce depicts. To some extent. The other houses of the street…gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces. he presents a world that is simple but quite humdrum. and “imperturbable”. The life in a street is not so different with the life in a remote and poor countryside. “uninhabited”. we won’t know the existing of this street.” (2-5). “brown”. The author represents the bare and silent surroundings in his picture through three images. The bare surroundings together with the empty and slow train show us a boring and dull life without any motivation. It sinks into silence and if we don’t pay attention. Remembering a little bit about the situation when James Joyce wrote his masterpiece “Dubliners” (“Araby” is one of the first short stories in “Dubliners”). we discover the empty image of the street where the main character of this short story lives at. Clearly. besides the darkness and the indifference of characters. the author impresses us with a deserted and quiet surroundings which make readers feel of a dull life without any motivation of the main character in this story. Continuing discovering this street. he was not in Dublin. we see “An uninhabited house of two storeys stood at the blind end. was a quiet street…” (1). It shows that this street has nothing salient.III. “square”. 11 . There is no people’s voice. this picture shows the author’s outlook about a real life in his native city. detached from its neighbors in a square ground. Through adjectives that the author used such as “blind”. Being away from Dublin gave James Joyce an objective view about the city and its residents. That is the time after his mother’s death and also this period (from 1904 to 1914) is the time of political violence and instability in Dublin. James Joyce describes “North Richmond Street. Firstly. In addition. all we see and feel is the houses are standing calmly and “looking” at each other. this picture also partly reflects the author’s thought about the Dubliners’ life when the author was not in Dublin at that time. “quiet”. At the beginning of the story. the conflict between Catholics and Protestants was at its peak. the train moved out of the station slowly.” (134-136) and “A few people were gathered around the stalls which were still open. it is a deserted train. Any one of us when hearing about the bazaar.. In the imagination of Mangan’s sister and the young boy. Although this is “a special train for bazaar” (128). It crept onward among ruinous houses…” (124-126). when the boy stands in front of Bazaar. he quickly strode towards the station. After an intolerable delay.” (137). but a carriage just has only one guest. This train doesn’t put on it a hurried and crowded look as we think. The young boy in this story had a very long day of nervousness and waiting for money from his uncle to go to bazaar and after receiving money in angrily mood. However. it’s time the boy realizes that his real life is not as beautiful as his dream.The second image that James Joyce used to depict a deserted picture of life is the image of a slow and empty train going to bazaar. in opposition to the eagerness of the boy. just have some people in a large building and it sinks deeply into darkness and emptiness. Araby is “a large building which displayed the magical name” (131) and brims over with light. the train has no motivation to start its trip. In contrast. it contains something make us disappointed. However. so people’s life is full of tiredness and has nothing that motivate them to go ahead. Also. there is no animation here and it gives the young boy a feeling of despair and painfulness. it seems utterly exhausted and sad in the dark night. Although it has the appearance of people in the third image and they are arguing something. 12 . the author sketches an intolerable delay of the train and it makes both the main character and readers feel unbearable. There are no guests to carry. When all stalls are closed and Araby is filled with darkness. This train delayed unbearably. The train run slowly. he sees “Nearly all the stalls were closed and the greater part of the hall was in darkness. Nevertheless. I recognized a silence like that which pervades a church after a service. it’s quite different in this picture. “I took my seat in a thirdclass carriage of a deserted train. no one except the boy is in this train. The third and also the last image is the silent a somber of Araby. the life of Dubliners at that time is full of class struggle and religious conflict. The bazaar now looks like the silence of a church after everyone leaves. we usually think that there are a lot of people there and perhaps it lasts all night. Hopelessness is one word that used to describe not only the emotion of the boy. implies a boring and somber life of Dubliners that he felt when he lived far away from his native city.Now in the dark night the young boy doesn’t know what he should do next. also the general mood of Dubliners. by using his own words. James Joyce. 13 . IV. The boy fell for the girl. unreal and its only basis was in his feelings. the boy’s pride which took over his feelings for the girl was destructive and almost destroyed him. inactive and reflective about his passion. Every morning he would peek through the crack in the parlor to watch the girl next door leave the house and walk to school. She seemed to be a wonderful escape from the harsh and depressing realities that confront him. He thought of her even in the oddest places like the market or in the classroom. The type of initiation the main character had was a sad journey from innocence to knowledge and experience. He worshiped and desired her. She became the light that contrasted the dark and gloomy mood that surrounded him. The focus was on himself and how he felt about his friend’s sister. the initiation. TRẦN ĐỨC MINH The girl whom he had a crush on was the sister of his friend who came at the doorstep to call her brother. The reader learns of the boy’s initiation in the final sentence: “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity. He followed her but never spoke. In addition. The narrator had different attitudes and reactions to the initiation experience. which the boy had to experience. then. She haunted his him even he was not around her. learned something about himself. In addition. He was more aware of what he was doing. His eyes were “often full of tears” (48). To some extent. The boy kept cherishing a unilateral love to a girl and dare not to bare his heart. and my eyes burned with anguish and anger. It was not a mutual feeling and therefore may have destroyed what he felt for her. The boy.” (163) The character 14 . He cried “O love! O love!” (59) in prayer to express his great love. it can be seen that the people at that time seemed to be pushed down by an invisible complex which was too sultry to pursue their desires and express their feelings. The girl had a negative influence on him as she occupied his mind taking him away from his sleep and school work. It is clear that the boy in Araby was passive. He learned that his love for the girl was one-sided. should also be taken into account. He had a difficult time accepting his own weakness. He waits every day to have a glimpse of the girl. In real world. His ideals of the girl were not realistic but were fruitless and vain. The girl drew out feelings in him. happiness. "Araby is about dream. But the boy never gets the chance to speak with his lady-love because his infatuation is so intense that he fears he will never gather the courage to speak with the girl and express his feelings. She is the sister of his friend Mangan. NGUYỄN KIỀU TRANG From the very beginning of the story we get to know that the boy has a secret adoration for a girl. He thinks about her when he accompanies his aunt to do food shopping on Saturday evening in the busy marketplace and when he sits in the back room of his house alone. He places himself in the front room of his house so he can see her leave her house. He describes his condition in the following words: "I imagined that I bore the chalice safely through a throng of foes" (46).had a negative reaction to his new awareness. In “Araby”. and then he rushes out to walk behind her quietly until finally passing her He cannot forget her name for a moment. and he discovered that feelings must be reciprocated and the negative side that love can also be painful. It had no existence beyond how he felt and the understanding of this was painful for the character. anguish and anger. the allure of new love and distant places combines with the familiarity of everyday hard work. His realization caused him to have feelings of shame. He always carries the image of the girl. The boy nourishes a very deep and pure passion for his dream girl. Mangan’s sister embodies this combination. each and every person has to face the inevitable frustration. He was in distress because he had stopped for a moment and gazed up into the darkness and realized that his previous feelings were wonderful but the only reality existed in his feelings. darkness and drab world”. With various symbolic characters. displeasure. This is the truth and universal. with frustrating consequences. realism. James Joyce creates the real world. since she is part of the familiar surroundings of the narrator’s street as 15 . disappointment and realization about love and reality. He was controlled by his passion for Mangan’s older sister. must compete with the dullness of schoolwork. From life and way of thinking of a young boy. and that his desire for her is actually only a vain wish for change. his love for the young girl is just his limitations and all of his actions and love are unilateral. even in the most unusual events of the city like an annual bazaar. stagnancy and a unilateral love. and the Dublin trains. Moreover. Through the short story “Araby” written by James Joyce. we can imagine a picture about life of a young boy who was submerged in darkness. His love for her. As an author he has presented his perception of social limitation and shows how those limitations are against the freedom of self-expression. To some extent. The young boy’s failure at the bazaar suggests that fulfillment and satisfaction remain foreign to Dubliners. it can be seen that the people at that time seemed to be pushed down by an invisible complex which was too sultry to pursue their desires and express their feelings. Though he promises Mangan’s sister that he will go to Araby and purchase a gift for her. 16 . Generally speaking. however. Fortunately. and my eyes burned with anguish and anger” (164). his uncle’s lateness. James Joyce has a clever purpose that he wants readers to draw from the story. he realizes that Mangan’s sister will fail his expectations as well. As the bazaar closes down. Mangan’s sister symbolizes the unreachable dream the people of England had during the tough times and it can be seen further as individualism and isolation. The English novelist James Joyce is famous for his research into basic human behavior and strong insight into the natural activities that make a man. these mundane realities erode his plans and ultimately end his desires. Mangan’s sister inspire the narrator with new feelings of joy and elation. he is young and obviously his new conception of reality will allow him to repair what he is doing wrong: “Gazing up into darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity.well as the exotic promise of the bazaar. Like the bazaar that offers experiences that differ from everyday Dublin. He characteristically fights against the traditional notions to set a new trend of thought in his literary works. Especially. that is gloomy and sultry life without motivation of Dubliners in 1890s.