Comparing Araby And A & P

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Dreams of Desire A man is a product of his environment, or is his environment a product of man? Both “Araby”, by James Joyce, and “A&P” by John updike, both Pose that question. In Araby a young boy trapped in a lower-class neighborhood in the outskirts of Dublin, but knows in all reality it won’t happen. In A&P, the main character knows working at the grocery store won’t let him have a better life. However, Sammy will have more options than the protagonist of Araby--who knows he doesn’t really have a chance of having a better life. Each character is can decide his fate. Its just a matter of acting on it In both stories, both Sammy and Joyce’s…show more content…
In A&P the moment the girls walk into the store every man is panting over these girls. The girls can feel all these eyes gawking over them, but are very nonchalant about it. Sammy on the other hand is giddy just like the rest of the men in the store. The way Sammy describes Queenie is in a creepy way, Sammy states “With the straps pushed off, there was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except just her” (Updike 1344). Sammy’s sexual desires take over him. As he blatantly stares at Queenie. Yet, the narrator also knows that he has not entirely grown up. The narrator states “I watched my master’s face pass from amiability to sternness; hoped I was not beginning to idle. I could not call my wandering thoughts together. I had hardly 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”(Joyce 124). Joyce’s narrator knows that he is young and naive. Sammy knows that if he doesn’t leave A&P, he may never grow up. The girls inspire a rather profound reaction in Sammy. His desire for Queenie
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  • Comparing Araby And A & P

    839 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lessons Learned “Araby” by James Joyce and “A&P” by John Updike begin very much the same. The narrator of “Araby” and Sammy from “A&P” both have a girl that has caught their eye. They both pursue and attempt to impress the girls, but the way in which they pursued these girls brought upon different methods. The endings are also very similar with how they are left with just themselves and the thoughts of regret and embarrassment. The narrator and Sammy chase after women on a foolish whim, and learn

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