The short story Araby is about an unnamed young boy living with his aunt and uncle in Dublin, Ireland. The boy lives on a quiet, blind street with several houses and the Christian Brothers school, which the boy attends. He likes looking through the belongings left behind by the former tenant of his house, a priest who died in the back drawing room. The boy describes his wintry nights in the dark street playing with his friends until Mangans sister comes out to get Mangan, one of his friends. It is during these brief interactions that the unnamed boy begins to notice her physical appearance and develops a crush. He later then becomes infatuated with her and he starts to think of her all the time, he even imagines carrying her like a chalice safely through a throng of foes. The boy doesnt bother to try and talk to the girl, but instead finds satisfaction by daydreaming about her. One day he goes into the back drawing-room in which the priest had died and Mangans sister speaks with him, she asks him if he is attending the Araby bazaar which she then tells him she cant attend due to her convent having a retreat, heari
ng this the boy jumped to the opportunity and promises the girl that he would get her something from the event if he were to go. By this time his fantasies increase, and not only did he fantasize about the girl, but he now fantasizes about the araby bazaar which leads him to lose focus in school and he starts to feel like his teachers are getting stricter with him. On Saturday morning he reminds his uncle about his plan to go to the Bazaar, but as time passes, around 9 pm, his uncle still has not arrived home, and he starts to get anxious. By the time his uncle arrived home, he had forgotten about the boys plan and he also made him late for the event, so when he finally arrived at the Araby bazaar it was shutting down and he could not get anything for Mangans sister. Disillusioned by what he sees at the bazaar, the boy finally sees himself as readers have seen him for much of the story. He realizes his vanity and foolishness, his unprofitable use of time, the futility of life in Dublin, that Mangans sister likely has no interest in him, and that there is no magical Araby in Ireland. (Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor)