Critical Perspectives on "Araby": Deconstructing Childhood Eric Lees College

A deconstructionist has many duties, and among them are deriving multiple meanings from a source as well as a destruction of previous criticisms of said source. This essay on deconstruction will take another look at James Joyce’s short story “Araby,” one of fifteen stories from Dubliners, as well as a previous criticism and analysis of it and will show that no singular interpretation is set in stone. This comparison and double reading will illuminate structural flaws that permeate throughout the New Criticism school of thought, and by shedding light on the backgrounds of the short story as well as James Joyce himself, there can be a greater understanding of the work as a whole.

Before looking at the short story and criticism is it important to know what the story is about. “Araby” is a short story by Irish author James Joyce and is a part of his short story collection Dubliners. It follows a young boy living in a heavily Catholic area who develops a crush on his neighbor. He becomes increasingly infatuated with her, getting lost in fantasies of her while being too nervous to approach her. That is, until she speaks to him about wanting to visit a bazaar known as “Araby” to buy something but cannot. The narrator tells her he will...