A&P by John Updike and James Joyce Araby - Essay Example

1. The narrator in James Joyce’s Araby demonstrates an intelligent young man who looks at life innocently. Using the first person point of view, his manner of describing the places in the story shows hints of loneliness. Describing his environment that is full of memories of his childhood exposes how much he has hold on to his past. On the other hand, it is apparent that he grows up as a polite and well-mannered young man who respects his aunt and uncle who raised him. His huge crush on Mangan’s sister was the beginning of his loss of innocence as illustrated by the uneasiness and impatience he felt while waiting for his uncle to come home from work so he could go to Araby and buy her a present.

While waiting, it was then that he began describing the events in the story differently putting emphasis on the unpleasant sights and sounds in his surroundings that comes along with his frustrations. 2. Sammy’s character in John Updike’s A&P demonstrates a rounded character as exhibited by the change in his personality from the beginning to the end of the story. Initially, while he narrates the events in the store where he works, he did not dare do anything that was unexpected of him so he satisfies himself by waiting for “Queenie,” the girl she admires, and her friends to come back to the store.

However, in the end, he made a huge risk in his life by quitting his job to display disagreement to Lengel’s inappropriate treatment to the girls. Similarly, the young man in James Joyce’s Araby is an example of a rounded character who exhibited a major shift in his character. Both main characters were infatuated, which drove them to face challenge of adulthood, although realizing at the end that it is not at all that simple. The manner in which they expressed their affection to the girls they liked are different where the boy in Araby wanted to give the girl a concrete present, while Sammy in A&P an emotional support.

Sammy’s frivolous attribute is illustrated in the manner he described all three girls based on their superficial features. On the other hand, the boy in Araby’s shows a little sensibility as his seems to be careful when describing the girl he was infatuated on, as well as in dealing with his uncle who came late that evening he was supposed to go to Araby. I can identify with the characters particularly with issues concerning my capability to make decisions on my own. At times, I thought I know better than other adults so I make decisions on my own, yet the consequences turn out to be harder than I thought.

Working in the supermarket during the daytime represents the theme of his story about innocence. At the same time, the quietness and the emptiness as described by the young man in Araby shows the emptiness in him that influenced him to take on the chance he had for the girl he likes. References: Joyce, James (1914). Araby. Dubliners. London: Grant Richards. Updike, John (1961). A&P. The New Yorker. New York, NY. Retrieved from http://www.tiger-town.com/whatnot/updike/ Wells, W. (1993). John Updikes “A&P”: A Return Visit to Araby.

Studies In Short Fiction, 30(2), 127.