Araby Figurative Language

In the short stories, “Araby” by James Joyce and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, we are able to interpret and analyze the stories and find a common ground between the two, with authors use of Figurative language, themes, and symbols. Both stories explore the ideas of love, loss, reality, and the feeling of imprisonment through social norms. In the short “Araby” James Joyce transports us to North Richmond Street, a quiet dead-end Street in Dublin, where the narrator lives. The narrator is a young ordinary boy who is shy and plays games with his friends on their quant Dublin Street. The narrator is never given a name, which also contributes to the boy’s ordinary and plain life style. The sister of the narrator’s friend, Mangan is …show more content…
The boy develops a sort of fascination with Mangan’s sister. He begins to think of her all the time, in the supermarket and even sits alone in a dark room to think about her, however he becomes discourages when he fear he wont have the courage to have a conversation with her. One-day Mangan’s sister asks the boy if he would like to have her ticket to the Araby, as she could not go because he will be on a retreat from school. The boy is ecstatic that the girl has finally spoken to him and decides he will bring something back from the bazaar for her. The day of the Araby, the boy reminds his uncle about his plans to attend the Araby so that his uncle can return home early. The time passes by and the boy’s uncle is still not home, and without him he is unable to buy the transportation fare. The boy’s uncle finally arrives at 9pm, leaving the boy only …show more content…
One of the most common themes is, epiphany. In both short stories the protagonist has an epiphany, which allows them to explore the freedom they have longed for through the window. However the themes are also polar opposites in the sense that in “Araby” the narrator’s epiphany has to do with gaining freedom through love and “The Story of an Hour” has to do with gaining freedom through a lost lover. Another theme that runs through both plot lines is, the complexity of independence. In “Araby” the narrator ultimately misses the bazaar due to is lack of independence and his reliance toward his uncle. Through the narrator is only a boy; the outcome of his chance for freedom and love would have been different had he had independence. In “The Story of an hour” Mrs. Mallard longs independence, however doesn’t truly discover it until she is given a taste of freedom. After the news of the death of her husband, she feels a sense of a re-born self. The new life he has envisioned for her future excites her, and she begins to truly feel alive again. This independce gives Mrs. Mallard inocense we all lose after childhood. The vision she sees outside the window is so pure and innocent, she almost feels like a child again with no obligation, commitment, or resopsoablity. Mrs. Mallard, however, keeps these thoughts private, which reveals how sacred this feeling truly is. At the end of the