Mangan's Use Of Light And Dark In Araby

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In James Joyce’s short story “Araby” a boy experiences his first love that just so happened to be his friend Mangan’s sister. The boy shows his fondness of her throughout the whole story. When he finally talks to her they talk about a bazaar and how she would love to attend but could not due to a busy schedule. In hearing this the boy says that he would be attending the bazaar and that he would even get her something. But when he arrives at the bazaar not many booths are still open and he encounters a woman that changed his perspective about some things.The boy has strong feelings for Mangan’s sister yet does not know if she reciprocates said feelings. Within his journey of getting her attention and the attempts to see if she likes him, it is noticed that key-words are put into play. These words, light and dark, help point out some important scenes in the story.…show more content…
In his seeing her the usage of the word light comes into play. Something else that appears is his getting happy when this so called light appears. “She was waiting for us, her figure so defined by the [light] from the half-opened door her brother always teased her before he obeyed, and [the boy] stood by the railings looking at her. Her dress swung as she moved her body, and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side.” (Joyce 30) When the boy is away from Mangan’s sister the word dark is used instead of light. He also experiences sadness in her absence. Before the reader is even introduced to Mangan’s sister the boy shows the reader the usage of dark. “The career of our play brought us through the [dark] muddy lanes behind the houses… to the back doors of the [dark] dripping gardens where odours arose from the ashpits, to the [dark] odorous stables…” (Joyce 30) When reading “Araby” using these two words really give more emphasis as to what is going
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