Heroic Epiphany The main characters in “A&P” by John Updike and “Araby” by James Joyce attempt heroic quests that lead to their respective epiphanies. These quests are significant to the hero because they want to do something good for other people. These epiphanies helped Sammy and the narrator gain experience and knowledge through their mistakes and foolishness. As a result, epiphany and the characters’ quests help signal a change in their personality and actions. Sammy from “A&P” completes a feat that lead him to an epiphany. Sammy’s feat is saving three girls from ignominy when his boss is getting the girls in trouble. Sammy picks the girls over his job when he confronts his boss and quits. The author says,”…and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be me hereafter,” (Updike, pg.3) Sammy realizes his ignorance when he attempted to impress the girls who weren’t interested.This set the stage for a world that will be a difficult place for him from that point forward. This is important because In addition, the little boy from “Araby”, also completes a quest leading him to an epiphany. The narrator has a crush on Mangan and promises to buy her something from the bazaar after they talked for the first time. When the narrator is in the bazaar, he realizes that his conversation with Mangan was meaningless small talk and that she doesn’t show interest in him. The author states,” Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity and my eyes burned with anguish and anger,” (Joyce, p.39) The narrator went from an innocent idealistic boy, to an adolescent realizing the world’s harsh realities. The narrator realizes he was driven by vanity and love, shaping him into a monster. This is significant because, the narrator isn’t innocent anymore so he isn’t going to be the same sweet little boy as before. Furthermore, Sammy’s quest had meaning to him, but it didn’t have significance in a reader’s perspective.
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This quest was significant to Sammy because he thought he would be a hero by saving the girls from embarrassment. Sammy’s quest was meaningless to a reader because his intentions weren’t genuine; they didn’t come from the heart because of his interest in Queenie’s physique. The author says,”…it just having come from between the two smoothest scoops of vanilla I had ever known were there…” (Updike, pg.3) Therefore, this was not an honorable quest because he was expecting something in return. Sammy’s hormones made him want to impress Queenie;therefore, Sammy isn’t mature enough to know what’s good for him and what’s not because his choice would not help him in the future.Sammy’s day-to-day experiences weren’t significant because he is just a regular teenage boy that can be considered lower-class because of his job at a grocery store. Similarly, the narrator’s quest from “Araby” was significant to him, but not in the reader’s view.The narrator’s goal was making his crush happy by buying her something at the bazaar, but Mangan shows no interest in him. He is so caught up in this affection towards Mangan, he doesn’t realize that he isn’t being realistic about his chances with her. This quest was pointless to a reader because even if he succeeded in buying her something, she wouldn’t have cared
This quest was significant to Sammy because he thought he would be a hero by saving the girls from embarrassment. Sammy’s quest was meaningless to a reader because his intentions weren’t genuine; they didn’t come from the heart because of his interest in Queenie’s physique. The author says,”…it just having come from between the two smoothest scoops of vanilla I had ever known were there…” (Updike, pg.3) Therefore, this was not an honorable quest because he was expecting something in return. Sammy’s hormones made him want to impress Queenie;therefore, Sammy isn’t mature enough to know what’s good for him and what’s not because his choice would not help him in the future.Sammy’s day-to-day experiences weren’t significant because he is just a regular teenage boy that can be considered lower-class because of his job at a grocery store. Similarly, the narrator’s quest from “Araby” was significant to him, but not in the reader’s view.The narrator’s goal was making his crush happy by buying her something at the bazaar, but Mangan shows no interest in him. He is so caught up in this affection towards Mangan, he doesn’t realize that he isn’t being realistic about his chances with her. This quest was pointless to a reader because even if he succeeded in buying her something, she wouldn’t have cared