James_Joyce_Araby_主题情节人物及背景分析

1、ArabyBackgrounds IntroductionIrelands major religion, Roman Catholicism, dominated Irish culture, as it continues to do today although to a lesser extent. Many families sent their children to schools run by Jesuit priests (like the one the narrator in attends) and convent schools run by nuns (like t

2、he one Mangans sister attends). Catholicism is often seen as a source of the frequent conflict in Irish culture between sensuality and asceticism, a conflict that figures prominently in Joyces autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man . In many ways, Catholicism, particularly as

3、 practiced at the turn of the century, was an extremely sensuous religion, emphasizing intense personal spiritual experience and surrounding itself with such rich trappings as beautiful churches, elegant paintings and statues, otherworldly music, and sumptuous vestments and altar decorations. On the

4、 other hand, the Churchs official attitude toward enjoyment of the senses and particularly toward sexuality was severe and restrictive. The ideal woman was the Virgin Mary, who miraculously combined virginal purity with maternity. Motherhood was exalted, but any enjoyment of sexuality, even in marri

5、age, was considered a sin, as were the practice of birth control and abortion. The inability to reconcile the spiritual and sensual aspects of human nature can be seen in the boys feelings toward Mangans sister in He imagines his feelings for her as a chalice-a sacred religious object-and so worship

6、ful is his attitude that he hesitates even to speak to her. Yet his memories of her focus almost exclusively on her body-her figure silhouetted by the light, the soft rope of her hair, the white curve of her neck, the border of her petticoat. Even the image of the chalice is ambivalent, since its cu

7、p-like shape and function suggests a sexual connotation. The boy never resolves this conflict between spirituality and sensuality. Instead, when confronted with the tawdriness of a shopgirls flirtation at the bazaar, he abruptly dismisses all his feelings as mere vanity.Introduction of the story and

8、 the authorAraby is one of fifteen short stories that together make up James Joyces collection, Dubliners. Although Joyce wrote the stories between 1904 and 1906, they were not published until paints a portrait of life in Dublin, Ireland, at the turn of the 20th century. Its stories are arranged in

9、an order reflecting the development of a child into a grown man. The first three stories are told from the point of view of a young boy, the next three from the point of view of an adolescent, and so on. Araby is the last story of the first set, and is told from the perspective of a boy just on the

10、verge of adolescence. The story takes its title from a real festival which came to Dublin in 1894 when Joyce was twelve years old.Joyce is one of the most famous writers of the Moder nist p eriod of literature, which runs roughly from 1900 to the end of World War II. Moder nist works ofte n in clude

11、 characters who are spiritually lost and themes that reflect a cynicism toward in stituti ons the writer had bee n taught to res pect, such as gover nment and religi on. Much of the literature of this p eriod is exp erime ntal; Joyces writi ng reflects this in the use of dashes in stead of quotati o

12、n marks to in dicate that a character is sp eak ing.Joyce had a very difficult time gett ing Dubli ners p ublished. It took him over ten years to find a publisher who was willing to risk publishing the stories because of their unconventional style and themes. Once he found a publisher, he fought ver

13、y hard with the editors to kee p the stories the way he had writte n them. Years later, these stories are heralded not on ly for their p ortrayal of life in Dublin at the turn of the cen tury, but also as the beg inning of the career of one of the most brillia nt En glish-la nguage writers of the tw

14、en tieth cen tury.PlotAraby opens on North Richm ond street in Dubli n, where an unin habited house of two storeys stood at the bli nd end, detached from its n eighbours in a square groun d. The n arrator, who rema ins unn amed throughout the story, lives with his aunt and un cle. He describes his b

15、lock, the n discusses the former tenant who lived in his house: a p riest who rece ntly died in the back room. This p riest has a library that attracts the young n arrator, and he is p articularly in terested in three titles: a Sir Walter Scott roma nee, a religious tract, and a p olice age nts memo

16、irs.The n arrator talks about being a part of the group of boys who play in the street. He then in troduces Mangans sister, a girl who cap tivates his imagi nati on eve n though he rarely, if ever, sp eaks with her. He does stare at her from his wi ndow and follow her on the street, however, ofte n

17、thinking of her eve n in pl aces the most hostile to roma nee. While in the market pl ace on Saturday ni ghts, for exa mple, he uses her image to guide him through the thronging crowd who yell their sales p itches and sing p atriotic Irish ballads. He becomes misty-eyed just at the thought of her an

18、d retreats to the p riests dark room in order to dep rive himself of other sen ses and thi nk only of her.Fin ally, Mangans sister sp eaks to him. She asks if he will be atte nding a church-s pon sored fair that is coming soon to Dubli n-a bazaar called Araby. He is ton gue-tied and cannot an swer,

19、but whe n she tells him that she cannot go because of a retreat that week in her convent, he pro mises to go and bring her a gift from the bazaar. From the n on he can only thi nk of the time whe n he will be at the fair; he is haun ted by the syllables of the word Araby. On the ni ght he is supp os

20、ed to atte nd the fair, his un cle is late retu rning home and he must wait to get money from him.He gets very an xious, and his aunt tells him that he may have to miss the bazaar, but his un cle does come home, apo logetic that he had forgotte n. After ask ing the boy if he knows a p oem en titled

21、The Arabs Farewell to His Steed, the uncle bids the boy farewell.The boy takes a coin from his uncle and catches a train to the fair. Araby is clos ing dow n as he arrives and he timidly walks through the cen ter of the bazaar. As he looks at the few stalls that are still open, he overhears a con ve

22、rsati on betwee n an En glish shop-girl and two young men. Their talk is no thi ng but idle goss ip. The shop-girl p auses relucta ntly to ask the boy if he wishes to buy any thi ng, but he decli nes. As he walks slowly out of the hall amid the darke ning of the lights, he thi nks that he is a creat

23、ure drive n and derided by van ity and his eyes burned with an guish and an ger.CharactersNarrator: The n arrator of this story is a young, sen sitive boy who con fuses a roma ntic crush and religious en thusiasm.All of the con flict in this story happens in side his min d. It is un likely that the

24、object of his crush, Mangans sister, is aware of his feeli ngs for her, nor is an ybody else in this boys small world. Because the boys thoughts only reveal a part of the story, a careful reader must put together clues that the author gives. For exa mple, the n arrator men tio ns that the former ten

25、ant of the house he shares with his aunt and un cle was a p riest, a rep rese ntative of the Catholic church, who left beh ind three books which became imp orta nt to the n arrator. One is a roma ntic adve nture by Sir Walter Scott; one is a religious pamp hlet writte n by a P rotesta nt; and the th

26、ird is the excit ing memoirs of a French p olicema n and master of disguise.These three books are not what a person would expect a Catholic p riest to have in his library. So if this p riest has non-religious literature in his library, the n how devout can an average church-goer be exp ected to be T

27、his turns out to be the case for the n arrator, who con fuses religious idealism with roma nee.The boy con fuses the religious and secular worlds whe n he describes himself at the market with his aunt. He bears the chalice-the Communion cup-through a thr ong of foes. He also describes Mangans sister

28、 in terms ofte n associated with the Virg in Mary. For the n arrator, the n, an ordinary grocery-sh opping trip becomes a religious crusade, and a p retty girl dow n the street becomes a substitute for the Mother of God. The boy fuses together religious devoti on for the Virgin Mary with his own rom

29、a ntic longing.Joyce is famous for creati ng characters who un dergo arepiphany-a sudde n mome nt of in sight-a nd the n arrator of Araby is one of his best exa mp les. At the end of the story, the boy overhears a trite conv ersati on betwee n an En glish girl work ing at the bazaar and two young me

30、n, and he sudde niy realizes that he has bee n confusing thin gs. It daw ns on him that the bazaar, which he thought would be so exotic and excit in g, is really only a commercialized p lace to buy things Furthermore, he now realizes that Mangans sister is just a girl who will not carewhether he ful

31、fills his promise to buy her something at the bazaar. His conversation with Mangans sister, during which he promised he would buy her something, was really only small talk-as meaningless as the one between the English girl and her companions. He leaves Araby feeling ashamed and upset. This epiphany

32、signals a change in the narrator-from an innocent, idealistic boy to an adolescent dealing with harsh realities.Mangans Sister : Mangan is one of the narrators chums who lives down the street. His older sister becomes the object of the narrators schoolboy crush. Mangans sister has no idea how the na

33、rrator feels about her, however, so when they discuss Araby, the bazaar coming to town, she is only being polite and friendly. She says she would like to go to the bazaar but cannot because she has to attend a school retreat that weekend. The narrator promises to buy her something at the bazaar if h

34、e goes, but it is unlikely that she takes this promise seriously. While on the one hand the narrator describes her romantically, he also describes her in reverential terms which call to mind the Virgin Mary. This dual image description of Mangans sister represents the religious and romantic confusio

35、n of the narrator.Mangan : Mangan is the same age and in the same class at the Christian Brothers school as the narrator, and so he and the narrator often play together after school. His older sister is the object of the narrators confused feelings.Narrators Aunt : The narrators aunt, who is a mothe

36、r figure in the story, takes the narrator with her to do the marketing. When it seems as though the uncle has forgotten his promise to the narrator that he could go to the bazaar, she warns the boy that he may have to put off the bazaar for this night of Our Lord. While this statement makes her seem

37、 strict in a religious sense, she also exhibits empathy for the boys plight. She pleads his case when the uncle forgets about the boys plans to go to Araby.Narrators Uncle : The narrators uncle seems self-centered and very unreliable. When the narrator reminds him that he wants to go to the bazaar,

38、he replies, Yes, boy, I know. But on the Saturday evening of the bazaar, he has forgotten, which causes the narrator to arrive at the bazaar very late. When the uncle finally shows up, he has been drinking, and as the boy leaves for the bazaar he begins reciting the opening lines of the poem, The Ar

39、abs Farewell to his Steed. Joyces characterization of the uncle bears resemblance to his own father, who liked to drink and was often in debt. Joyces inclusion of Mrs. Mercer, the pawnbrokers widow who waits for the uncle to return, suggests that the uncle owes money.ThemesThe narrator recalls a boy

40、hood crush he had on the sister of a friend. He went to Araby, a bazaar with an exotic Oriental theme, in order to buy a souvenir for the object of his crush. He arrived late, however, and when he overheard a shallow conversation between a female clerk and her male friends and saw the bazaar closing

41、 down, he was overcome with a sense of futility.Alienation and LonelinessThe theme of isolation is introduced early in the story by the image of a deserted, isolated house and the narrators recollection of a priest who lived and died in their back room. The young protagonist seems isolated within hi

42、s family. There is no mention of his parents; he lives with his aunt and uncle, and the uncle, in particular, appears insensitive to the boys feelings, coming home late even though he knows the boy wants to go to the bazaar. The boys crush on his friend Mangans sister seems to isolate him even furth

43、er. He is too tongue-tied to initiate a relationship with her, worshipping her from afar instead. Moreover, his crush appears to isolate him from his friends. Whereas early in the story he is depicted as part of a group of friends playing in the street, after his crush develops his separation from t

44、he others is emphasized: he stands by the railings to be close to the girl while the other boys engage in horseplay, and as he waits in the house for his uncle to return so he can go to the bazaar the noises from his friends playing in the street sound weakened and indistinct. The story ends with hi

45、m confronting his disillusionment alone in the nearly deserted bazaar.Change and TransformationThe narrator experiences an emotional transformation-changing from an innocent young boy to a disillusioned adolescent-in the flash of an instant, although the reader can look back through the story and tr

46、ace the forces that lead to the transformation. This change occurs through what Joyce called anepiphany, a moment of sudden and intense insight. Although the narrator suddenly understands that his romantic fantasies are hopelessly at odds with the reality of his life, this understanding leaves him n

47、either happy nor satisfied; instead, he feels anguish and anger. It is not clear what impact the narrators epiphany will have on his future development, only that that development has begun.Fantasy and RealityThe story draws connections between the romantic idealism of the young protagonists attitud

48、e toward Mangans sister and romantic fantasies in the surrounding culture. Much of this romanticism seems to stem from religion, the pervasive presence of which is emphasized by mentions of the youngsters parochial schools, repeated references to the dead priest, and the aunt s fear that the bazaar

49、might be a Freemason affair and her reference to This night of our Lord. The boy carries his thoughts of Mangans sister like a chalice through a throng of foes, and his crush inspires in him strange prayers and praises. The way the girl herself is described-as an alluring but untouchable figure dram

50、atically lit-and the boys worshipful attitude give her something of the character of a religious statue. Popular culture is also suggested as a source of the boys romanticism, in the references to Sir Walter Scotts The Abbot and the poem The Arabs Farewell to His Steed. The contrast between fantasy

51、and reality draws to a head at the Araby bazaar, whose exotic name is merely packaging for a crassly commercial venture. In the nearly deserted hall and the insipid flirtation he overhears between two men and a shopgirl, the protagonist is confronted with huge gap between his romantic fantasies of l

52、ove and the mundane and materialistic realities of his life.ConstructionThrough the use of a first person narrative, an older narrator recalls the confused thoughts and dreams of his adolescent self. Joyce uses this familiarity with the narrator s feelings to evoke in readers a response similar to t

53、he boys epiphany-a sudden moment of insight and understanding-at the turning point of the story.Point of View is told from the first person point of view, but its perspective is complicated by the gap in age and perception between the older narrator and the younger self he remembers. The story takes

54、 the form of a reminiscence about an apparent turning point in the narrator s growth, a partial explanation of how the young protagonist became the older self who is the narrator. The reader is given no direct information about the narrator, however, his relentless contrasting of his boyhood selfs i

55、dealism with the tawdry details of his life, and the story s closing line, create a somewhat bitter and disillusioned tone. It is left to the reader to decide how far the narrator has travelled toward a true understanding of reality.SymbolismJoyces use of symbolism enriches the story s meaning. The

56、former tenant of the narrators house, the Catholic priest, could be said to represent the entire Catholic church. By extension, the books left in his room-which include non-religious and non-Catholic reading-suggest a feeling of ambiguity toward religion in general and Catholicism in particular. The bazaar Araby represents the East-a part of the world that