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#6 Araby

    Araby, By James Joyce(1914)

Rating: 7.8/10

Everyone has their own memory of 'firsts' as they're too important to be easily forgotten. First crush, first love, and first commitment will be the proof of emotional maturity as we look back on ourselves. It is natural to be discomforted at how unskilful we were when facing our 'firsts.' Sometimes reciprocation turns out to be our own hallucinations, just like the narrator had. Perhaps the author didn't specify the main characters' names to tell how everyone goes through their firsts full of mistakes. 

I could enjoy the overall theme and concept of the story. Purity and impurity were contrasted, as well as the boy's innocence and his contamination. Mangan's sister was depicted as a goddess/princess who would seldom personally connect with the boy. The theme: A boy having a crush on a religious girl was interesting. However, I couldn't enjoy how there were no noticeable incidents in this story. Therefore, in my opinion, Araby appears to be didactic and conveys priceless concepts, but its potential is limited because readers are left to notice core incidents. 

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