Literary Criticism Applied to Araby - Essay Example

The meaning would be discussed in the next paragraph. Powerlessness is the feeling of being not able to control the self and no clear solutions can be laid down. Powerlessness also shows how a person cannot do anything about the treatment or actions of other people towards him. It can be the incapability to get what he wants and to stop an event from happening like an accident. It can also be the absence of ability to change bad habits, past events and turn dreams into reality. Recognition of powerlessness involves knowing that certain things and events are outside of his control like bringing back a dead person to life.

Powerlessness is also comprised of addiction and obsession (Lawson). Anyone who exhibits powerlessness does not have any ability in decision-making as he cannot take charge of his life and fate. Powerlessness was greatly reflected in the story of Araby as the nameless narrator was helplessly in love for the first time. He could not do anything as he was hindered by his fear to talk to the sister of Mangan (Joyce 550-551). Fear held him back as he found himself weak and captivated by the first time he experienced infatuation.

It is like a puppy love as his innocence got washed off by the experience. Powerlessness was also exhibited by the sister of Mangan as she could not go to Araby or the bazaar because of the weekend retreat (Joyce 551). The girl could not decide on how she could go as she allowed the external force to decide her fate. The tradition dictates her future as that part of the story implies. Going back to the case of the nameless narrator, his weakness and powerlessness can also be seen in him as he waited for his uncle to go back home no matter how late he was (Joyce 552).

That situation is a good example of powerlessness as the narrator cannot travel to the Araby as he did not have any money and he needed to wait his uncle to give him money. Money as commonly seen today is a symbol of power. People have the capacity or access to something if they have money. The next key point in the analysis is the defeat depicted in the short story. Defeat is described as the anxiety, depression or sadness that a person experiences when he lose something and has not won. The negative feeling becomes a burden to that person giving him the stress of his life as he laments for the tragic result he got into (Taylor et.al. 795).

Losing creates the feeling of defeat, the emotion that feels heavy to carry. A person feels down whenever he is in defeat as he may wanted to give-up just to compensate for the ill-feeling he has and free himself from the burden. The direction of defeat is acceptance as the person will generalize the logic of his inability to do something and giving-up. Defeat is linked to powerlessness as they both show how a person cannot do anything about his fate that eventually leads to his decision of giving-up.

Defeat was encountered by the nameless narrator in the story when he went to the Araby and saw many closed stores already and a young saleslady who did not entertain him well (Joyce 553). He thought he wasted his time and effort in going to the English bazaar since no good stores were left open. He realized he could not stay any longer with the love he felt for the sister of his friend as he stated: I lingered before her stall, though I knew my stay was useless, to make my interest in her wares seem the more real.

Then I turned away