A Boy and Girl’s Relationship in James Joyce’s “Araby”

A Boy and Girl’s Relationship in James Joyce’s “Araby” A relationship is a connection between two people or more. The relationship could be made up of different types, races, or genders of people. One relationship in the story “Araby” by James Joyce is on that has to deal with a boy and a girl. The relationship is between the narrator, who by choice of the author remains nameless, and his friend Mangan’s sister. The relationship that the story revolves around is a relationship that is continuously evolving and changes from casual friendship to total obsession.
This relationship controls the plot of the story and shows how much a person’s obsession can affect the relationship. As the story goes along, the boy builds feelings for the girl which quickly reach the point of obsession. At the beginning of the story the girl means nothing more to the boy then just a sign that his friend has to go inside, and stop playing with all of his friends. As the story continues, the narrator develops feelings for the girl, and instantly her appearance is much more than just the time to go in the house.
While playing with the girl’s brother, all the narrator thinks about is when his friend’s sister will come outside and how he can get her attention. He says, “We waited to see whether she would remain or go in and, if she remained, we left our shadow and walked up to Mangan’s steps resignedly. ” This statement shows that, although he is not assertive with his feelings, he still does anything to get the attention of the girl. He would look forward to when she walked down the block just so he could follow her and keep the image in his head.

The way he felt while he saw Mangan’s sister was unparallel to any other emotion he had experienced. While looking at his window he said, “When she came out to the doorstep my heart leaped, I ran to the hall, seized my books and followed her. ” He says, “I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood. ” Although he talks to her very little, the work that he does for it is worth it and makes him happy.
She quickly became the center of his attention, and was no longer just a symbol to represent a time of day; rather she was a person who he would do anything to get the attention of. The fact that the boy cannot get the girl off of his mind is just another way to show how he is obsessed with her. This is shown a few places in the story. The main character says, “Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance. ” James Joyce tells how the narrator will be in places such as the grocery store with his aunt, and he still cannot get the girl off of his mind.
In the story it also says how the boy sits by himself and says “O love! O love! ” while thinking about the girl he is obsessed with. The boy seemed to treat this girl as if he has know her for years now and that there is an established relationship, while in all actuality he has only known this girl for a few days In the story, the narrator shows his distinct obsession with the girl by going to Araby for her. The point that makes this so interesting is that he didn’t plan on going to this bazaar.
Yes, he knew that the bazaar would be a enjoyable place to be, but he did not think about attending the event, nor did he want to ask his aunt and uncle for permission to go to it. Conversely, when the girl brought up going to Araby, and how she would not be able to attend, the narrator had no problem offering to go and to get her something while he was there. The reason why this shows the obsession level is because this was the first time that he spoken to the girl.
By the end of the first conversation he had ever had with her, he had offered to go down town for her to get her something from a fair that she wanted to go to, seems like a little much considering the situation. The last example that shows the narrator’s level of obsession is how he prepared for the Araby bazaar. The day of the bazaar came slowly, and could not come quick enough for the boy. The days leading up to the bazaar the boy said “I had hardy any patience with the serious work of life, which now that it stood between me and my desire, seemed to me child’s play, ugly monotonous child’s play. This statement shows how much Araby meant to him, and how much of his attention this event took from his other commitments. The day finally came, and the boy “went from room to room singing” in his house. IT was evident that he could not wait to leave to go to the bazaar, but at this point he had to wait for his uncle to get home so that he could get some money from him. Around nine o’clock he got home, and although at this time it was a little ridiculous to go down town at his age, with the help of his aunt he was able to talk his uncle into the idea.
The story “Araby” by James Joyce is based on relationship, a relationship which is based upon obsession. The boy who happens to be the victim of obsession learns by the closing lines of the story that he mislead himself, and now can see that traveling to Araby was not worth the attention of his new friend. Although Joyce does not say what exactly happens with the girl and the boy he makes it obvious that the boy was not happy with himself, and his decision to go to Araby, when Araby was