Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
Leah Kelson
Abstract: “Fall of Coins”: Metaphorical and literal transaction in James Joyce’s “Araby”
James Joyce’s piece entitled “Araby” resides in his collection of short stories entitled Dubliners published in 1914. Joyce tells the story of a young boy that discovers puppy love with the “girl next door.” The boy obsesses over his best friend’s sister and finally catches her attention when he promises to bring her back something from Araby. However, the boy arrives at the much-anticipated event only to find “darkness” and “silence”. Scholars dispute the disparity between the reality of Araby in Ireland and Joyce’s written work: while scholars like Heyward Ehrlich find “Araby” to be a story of a conceited young boy trying to reinvent himself, others like T.S. Eliot find the story to be a “vivid waiting”. However, what these, and other scholars, have failed to recognize is the significance of a transactional reading of Joyce’s “Araby.” Transaction in this context refers to the giving of time, affection, money, attention, etc. with the expectation of something in return. “Araby” is laced with transactional examples including literal market-based transactions and metaphorical transactions including the transaction of charity for recognition or the exchange of gifts for attention. With this in mind, “Araby” becomes a critique on literal and metaphorical transaction in which Joyce argues that expense always exceeds the return.
Keywords: Joyce, Araby, Dubliners, transaction, money, currency, Ireland.
Copyright and Licensing of My Content
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Jarica Watts
“Fall of Coins”: Metaphorical and literal transaction in James Joyce’s “Araby”
Leah Kelson
Abstract: “Fall of Coins”: Metaphorical and literal transaction in James Joyce’s “Araby”
James Joyce’s piece entitled “Araby” resides in his collection of short stories entitled Dubliners published in 1914. Joyce tells the story of a young boy that discovers puppy love with the “girl next door.” The boy obsesses over his best friend’s sister and finally catches her attention when he promises to bring her back something from Araby. However, the boy arrives at the much-anticipated event only to find “darkness” and “silence”. Scholars dispute the disparity between the reality of Araby in Ireland and Joyce’s written work: while scholars like Heyward Ehrlich find “Araby” to be a story of a conceited young boy trying to reinvent himself, others like T.S. Eliot find the story to be a “vivid waiting”. However, what these, and other scholars, have failed to recognize is the significance of a transactional reading of Joyce’s “Araby.” Transaction in this context refers to the giving of time, affection, money, attention, etc. with the expectation of something in return. “Araby” is laced with transactional examples including literal market-based transactions and metaphorical transactions including the transaction of charity for recognition or the exchange of gifts for attention. With this in mind, “Araby” becomes a critique on literal and metaphorical transaction in which Joyce argues that expense always exceeds the return.
Keywords: Joyce, Araby, Dubliners, transaction, money, currency, Ireland.