Zadius Sky: Discovery of the Unseen

James Joyce’s short story Araby expresses the message of first love, then the sense of anger and disappointment in the journey of a young boy. It is also a sense of breakdown of one’s illusion. The main character of the story, a young boy, seeks to please his friend, Mangan’s sister, an unnamed older girl, whom he idolizes but fails in his attempt, plunging him into despair and disappointment at the end of the story. Joyce uses a common thread of darkness throughout the story, which draws the reader to see the boy’s discovery of real reality. This theme of darkness is extended into Joyce’s descriptions of Dublin, as this Irish town appeared to him in his own youth. Joyce used the darkness as a theme of this story to express the concepts of emptiness, despair, and sorrow in his details of the setting in Dublin, in his description of the boy’s first sharp taste of reality when he encounters disappointing experiences at Araby bazaar, and shows the imagery of light as a hope for the boy.

Through the eyes of young boy, Joyce uses the darkness in the setting of Araby to symbolize the concepts of emptiness and sorrow when describing the street, the houses, and the bazaar. In the opening of Araby, the young boy describes North Richmond Street as being "blind," a dead-end, and the sound of silence in the street shows the surrounding of the area to be empty (p. 639-40). The emptiness is a hollow sense of darkness or a "void" feeling, in which the boy feels he is alone when talking about his street and the few people who inhabit it. In Joyce’s Araby, A.R. Coulthard states that the young boy and his friend, by being playful, "tried to frolic among somber houses, whose ‘brown imperturbable’ seemed ‘conscious of decent lives within them,’ an image that expresses…a bond between decency and constructed life in the mind of the Dubliners" (Coulthard).

A second example to which the word "dark" is used several times to describe a specific place, and that is an area surrounding the boy’s street. The young boy describes his play with his friend which had "brought [them] through the dark muddy lanes behind the houses where [they] ran the gantlet of the rough tribes from the cottages, to the back doors of the dark dripping gardens where odors arose from the ashpits, to the dark odorous stables…" (p. 640). The imagery of darkness of this passage expresses that the town itself is filled with shadowy and dark colors in the streets and houses.

A third instance of the imagery of darkness is manifested in the section that describes the young boy’s entrance to the bazaar. As the boy enters the bazaar, he sees "nearly all the stalls were closed and the greater part of the hall was in darkness. [He] recognized a silence like that which pervades a church after a service" (p. 643). The darkness that appears at the bazaar in this section gives Araby a feeling of emptiness and despair; the bazaar seems to be closing at the same time as the boy’s first entrance. The detailed setting of the houses, street, and the bazaar in this story utters the emotion of emptiness and despair through the observation of the boy.

As the overwhelming image of darkness appears throughout the story, an image of light gives the boy a sense of hope. In Araby, the image of light that appears out of the darkness is the older girl, Mangan’s sister, who fascinates the young boy. Because of her, the boy has the feeling of hope in which he would find a meaning for his life and more images of light of cover the troubled and darkened world that surrounds him. Mangan’s sister has become a hope, an image of light that he takes with him to "places the most hostile to romance" (p. 640). One example from the story that reveals the girl as a light for the boy: the "light from the lamp opposite [their] door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and…the hand upon the railing. It fell over one side of her dress and caught the white border of a petticoat…visible as stood at ease" (p. 641). The image of the girl wearing the white dress symbolizes goodness and purity, which the young boy is wishing for in his life. In a sense, the boy has become confused because he does not know for sure what he is feeling toward the girl, but he believes to be a pure love.

Because of his adoration for the girl, the boy will do anything for her to gain the purity of the girl’s light. One author, Margot Norris, has stated in her article, Blind Streets and Seeing Houses: Araby’s Dim Glass Revisited, that "when Mangan’s sister speaks, her speech is like a startling irruption in the boy’s fantasy" (Norris). When the girl finally speaks to the boy, he became shocked to the point where he barely knows what to say to her. Since the girl mentions the Araby bazaar, he makes it a heroic mission to go to the bazaar because he felt it was a place of hope. He feels that "the syllables of the word Araby were called to [him] through the silence in which [his] soul luxuriated and cast an Eastern enchantment over [him]" (p. 641). While the bazaar is an enchanting place in his mind, but not in reality, the boy still keeps the image of the girl to himself as to keep hope alive during his trip to Araby.

Assuming Joyce as a young boy in this story, he expresses his own first severe taste of reality as he encounters unexpected and disappointing experiences at the Araby bazaar. The first disappointing experience appears when the young boy first enters Araby at the same time as it is closing. He sees that "the greater part of the hall was in darkness. [He] recognized a silence like that which pervades a church after a service. [He] walked into the center of the bazaar timidly" (p. 643). At this point, the boy starts to feel that his ideal would has abandoned him since the Araby bazaar appears to be empty. Because the bazaar has become a quest for the boy, he experts it to be a temple of love and hope with kind, caring people and bright lights engulfing the place, but it is not what he expects. The bazaar, as it turns out, is simply a market of stalls selling goods and products.

Another experience at the bazaar to which the boy see the "two men…counting money on a salver. [He] listened to the fall of the coins" (p. 643). The imagery of "counting money on a salver" represents the same motive of a greed profit as the market shop in the eyes of the boy. The fact that the men count money at the bazaar is not the sign of light and hope to which the boy expected to find.

The third experience revealed an interaction between the girl and the two men engaging in flirtatious conversation by the door of the stall (p. 643). The boy finds that love is portrayed as an empty, passing flirtation at the bazaar, not alluring or enchanting as he would expect it to be. When the salesgirl walks up to the boy and asks him if he wants to buy something, he discovers that "the tone of her voice was not encouraging; she seemed to have spoken to [him] out of a sense of duty" (p. 643). In this section with the salesgirl, the boy seems to be nervous talking to her because she appears to be uncaring of him, and he does not expect distasteful attitude from the people there. According to John Updike’s "A & P": A Return Visit to Araby, Walter Wells expresses that the young boy gets to the bazaar "too late, and recognizes in the flirtatious banter there between the salesgirl and her two English admirers, and in the two men counting money, something uncomfortably close to the nature of his own longing: his dream…was actually sexual, and money would not buy it" (Wells). The young boy then learns that sexual flirtation becomes pointless if he has no money to show at the bazaar, and he wishes that money would not buy his fantasy of love.

The final experience of disappointment appears when the lights of the bazaar have gone out, and he finds an unexpected image in the dark. When the upstairs hall of the bazaar has gone completely dark,  the boy gazes "up into the darkness [he] saw [himself] as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and [his] eyes burned with anguish and anger" (p. 643). This last section of Araby is the turning point of the young boy’s life in which he is finally faces the real reality. According to Norris, "the darkened gallery of [the bazaar appears] to ’see’ the boy in a way that lets him see himself, as though it were a dark mirror catching him in its eye…" (Norris). The last experience at the bazaar causes the boy to be angry at life, but he seems to come to accept that darkness have been and always will be a part of him. As the story’s main character who encounters the unexpected and disappointing experiences at the Araby bazaar, Joyce recounts his first sharp taste of reality.

James Joyce uses darkness in his short story to bring forth a shattering of illusion. The young boy’s first love was in fact an illusion, and his experiences of disappointment and shocks were the sounds of his illusion cracking. While the darkness expresses emptiness or perhaps a glimpse of harsh reality, Joyce uses the imagery of light that balance the story’s plot as the young boy’s motivation in his travel to Araby bazaar.

Notes:

Coulthard, A.R. "Joyce’s Araby." Explicator. 52.2 (1994): 97+.

Joyce, James. "Araby." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 8th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia.  New York: Longman, 2002.  639-643.

Norris, Margot. "Blind Streets and Seeing Houses: Araby’s Dim Glass Revisited." Studies in Short Fiction.  32.3. (1995): 309+.

Wells, Walter. "John Updike’s ‘A & P’: A Return Visit to Araby."  Studies in Short Fiction.  30.2 (1993): 127+.

Dreams are mysterious and very unpredictable nature. Dreams may come from the realm of the unknown or beyond our reality or from our very own subconsciousness. There are many theories for where do dreams come from.  But, dreams do indeed teach us a great deal, in small ways or in profound ways. We do not know how do dreams work every night, and we cannot foresee what the next dream will be like. Every night is a new adventure into the unknown.  And, dreams are full of possibilities and opportunities.

Laura Knight-Jadczyk once addressed the nature of dreams in her article, Dreams and Disinformation:

There are over 500 references to the word "dream" and its permutations in the Cassiopaean text, as I have just discovered, and a brief overview shows that dreams, like everything else, can be of a dual nature. We can have those that are communications with the higher self, other selves, the universal mind and so on; and we can have dreams that are a direct result of an idea that is being implanted to lead us astray; and we can have dreams that are "memories" of "abductions," or the screen memories implanted to cover the real activities of abduction, AND we can have prophetic dreams not to mention dreams of past life experiences and maybe even future life experiences! So, it seems that, like everything else, we have to use our minds, our experiences and our instincts to choose what interpretation is appropriate. As the Cassiopaeans have said, nobody said this was gonna be easy and "no pain, no gain." We have to exercise our thinking, our judgment and our conscious will to make them all strong and the best way to do this is to ask questions! The C’s made a remark in answer to a question that was not exactly about dreams, but the answer was so appropriate, I think that it applies in all situations:

A: These are the questions that prompt reflection, reflection prompts analysis, analysis prompts conclusions, which builds knowledge, which fosters protection!!!

Dreams have true meanings only to the dreamer. If one relates a dream to another, one might get a different interpretation than what was actually being conveyed by the dream. Using others’ interpretations of one’s dream might go in a wrong direction. What is important here is that dreams are both impersonal and personal natures, and only the dreamer can interpret the meanings behind the dreams if one has an appropriate knowledge about the dream in general.  So, first a dreamer needs a key, and that key is an asking of a question to which will open a door to one’s psyche.  When one awakes from the dream, one needs to have a question to which will lead to an understanding of the dream.

But, before one starts to understand or interpret a dream, one needs to look at the context of the dream itself. Carl Jung once said in his "Dream" that:

When we take up an obscure dream, our first task is not to understand and interpret, but to establish the context with minute care. By this I do not mean unlimited "free association" starting from any and every image in the dream, but a careful and conscious illumination of the interconnected associations objectively grouped round particular images. (96)

Above is important for dream as well in life.  Context in dreams and in any given situation is relevant.  Without taking the context in mind, it is like trying to understand the meaning of a story without hearing it.  When establishing a context in dream, one needs to discover if a certain object or individual in one’s dream have a subjective or an objective significance.  Jung pointed out:

For just as the image of an object is composed subjectively on the one side, it is conditioned objectively on the other side. When I reproduce it in myself, I am producing something that is determined as much subjectively as objectively. In order to decide which side predominates in any given case, it must first be shown whether the image is reproduced for its subjective or for its objective significance.  If, therefore, I dream of a person with whom I am connected by a vital interest, the interpretation on the objective level will certainly be nearer to the truth than the other.  But, if I dream of a person who is not important to me in reality, then interpretation on the subjective level will be nearer to the truth. (53)

If a dream contains a subjective significance, it is the unknown or unimportant.  That unknown would be considered to be part of the dreamer-self.  This unknown would reveal its action in the dream, and this action would reveal a hidden part of the dreamer.  This would be important for those who desire to understand about oneself or seek to resolve certain issues.

There are many meanings as well interpretations for dreams, as such works of Freud and Jung.  But, Jung’s objective/subjective significance is important to be part of one’s working knowledge in the search of the hidden meaning of the dreams.  Perhaps, one would discover the unseen parts of themselves, and these parts would be revealed as an utter shock or may come as a simple pleasant surprise.

When one is in search of self, a study of dreams will reveal many interesting and horrifying aspects of oneself than never been known before.

Fear is very much known to everyone and it is very contagious. We see it everywhere, especially in today’s world. When one becomes fearful, one’s mind retorts to become clouded or paralyzed. In order to overcome this kind of fear, one would request for knowledge and think for oneself. Knowledge can surely protect us from that we would become fearful of.

Imagine going to a jungle or to a far away place where wild animals reside. You see a tiger, which will begin to growl at you when you come near it. You would then become fearful or paralyzed. You would have no idea what to do except to run. Then, she would come running after you and eventually will kill you. However, when a tiger is considered to be your favorite animal, you might not get paralyzed when you see it and you want to pet it. But, you would still get killed. The tiger was protecting herself and her cubs, and sees you as only a threat. So, what to do? Before going to a situation like this, you would need to gain knowledge of the nature of the tiger. Before going off to some forests or jungle, you might need to consult with some experts in the field or read up on the subjects of wild animals. Start with their history, how they live, and the works. Research all sides of a situation or everything on the subject. By gaining knowledge on the tigers and their way of life, you would be much less fearful of the tiger when you do encounter it. Then, you would instantly know what to do.

Fear will only control us when we do not know in depth about the things we fear. When you fear a certain thing, that is the thing you should be learning about. You then will gain knowledge to store it in your unconscious mind, so when a moment comes, you would make a better ’snap judgment’ to protect yourself. It is very much like training your mind and body before facing the danger without becoming paralyzed by a sudden fright.

When a person learns of something, he or she will begin to become fearful if that ’something’ (e.g., spider or terrorist) would consider being danger to one’s survival. Learning does have its rewards.

Here is an interesting conversation between Don Juan and Carlos Castaneda from The Teachings of Don Juan:

(Don Juan said)"When a man starts to learn, he is never clear about his objectives. His purpose is faulty; his intent is vague. He hopes for rewards that will never materialize for he knows nothing of the hardships of learning.

"He slowly begins to learn - bit by bit at first, then in big chunks. And his thoughts soon clash. What he learns is never what he pictured, or imagined, and so he begins to be afraid. Learning is never what one expects. Every step of learning is a new task, and the fear the man is experiencing begins to mount mercilessly, unyieldingly. His purpose becomes a battlefield.

"And thus he has stumbled upon the first of his natural enemies: Fear! A terrible enemy - treacherous, and difficult to overcome. It remains concealed at every turn of the way, prowling, waiting. And if the man, terrified in its presence, runs away, his enemy will have put an end to his quest."

"What will happen to the man if he runs away in fear?"(asked Carlos)

"Nothing happens to him except that he will never learn. He will never become a man of knowledge. He will perhaps be a bully, or a harmless, scared man; at any rate, he will be a defeated man. His first enemy will have put an end to his cravings."

"And what can he do to overcome fear?"

"The answer is very simple. He must not run away. He must defy his fear, and in spite of it he must take the next step in learning, and the next, and the next. He must be fully afraid, and yet he must not stop. That is the rule! And a moment will come when his first enemy retreats. The man begins to feel sure of himself. His intent becomes stronger. Learning is no longer a terrifying task.

"When this joyful moment comes, the man can say without hesitation that he has defeated his first natural enemy."

"Does it happen at once, don Juan, or little by little?"

"It happens little by little, and yet the fear is vanquished suddenly and fast."

"But won’t the man be afraid again if something new happens to him?"

"No. Once a man has vanquished fear, he is free from it for the rest of his life because, instead of fear, he has acquired clarity - a clarity of mind which erases fear. By then a man knows his desires; he knows how to satisfy those desires. He can anticipate the new steps of learning and a sharp clarity surrounds everything. The man feels that nothing is concealed." (p. 53-54)

When one becomes so fearful, it is very easy to run away and hide. However, when one hides from a danger, that danger will come to him or her later in life. The fear will never go away if one hides. In order to overcome your fear, learn about what you fear. And, be objective in your learning. Then, you will reach to the point where your fears will become less and less.

When one learned more about what one fear, one will begin to have a strong courage to face the certain danger.

According to Martha Stout in her book, Paranoia Switch:

You as an individual human being must realize that you already have an illuminating psychological tool for casting some light on both overt and covert terrorism, two of the darkest forms of psychological abuse ever to be perpetrated. The tool you possess is courage: first, the courage to reevaluate the real physical threat of terrorism to you personally (…) and second, the courage not to be retraumatized and controlled by foreign terrorists – or by political scaremongers right here at home, who are motivated to keep your subliminal fear and your sense of dread at the simmering point. View the information that bombards you with an analytical eye. Do not pledge allegiance to paranoia. Just as it is for a battered and submissive spouse, courageously deciding to get out of a trap built of fear is by far the most knowledgeable, the sanest, and the safest thing you can do. (142-3)

What it all comes down to is don’t give into your fears and try to know more about what you fear from all angles and you will no longer be controlled by your fears.

Knowledge will protect you in so many ways.