araby
... create the mood or atmosphere, and then changes to bright light references when discussing Mangan’s sister. The story expresses it’s theme through the setting, the characterization of the boy and his point of view as the narrator. Darkness is used throughout the story as the prevailing theme. James Joyce’s story begins at dusk and continues through the evening during the winter, in Araby Ireland. He chooses this gloomy setting to be the home of a young boy who is infatuated with his neighbor’s sister. The boy is young and naïve and he leads a dull and boring life. Joyce uses darkness to make the boy’s reality more believable through more vivid, precise descriptions. Bright light is used to create a fairy tale world of dreams and illusions. James Joyce uses the bright light when describing Mangan’s sister, the boys infatuation. The boy imagines that he will heroically bring her something back from the bazaar. Joyce refers to bright light when discussing Mangan’s sister in order to give her a heavenly presence. Light is used to create a joyful atmosphere. The ending of the story is filled with images of darkness and light. James Joyce uses the lights of the bazaar to illustrate the boy’s confrontation with reality. The bazaar lights are almost all off...