Setting of "Araby"

The setting in the story gives the reader a better understanding of the narrator through his word choice of explaining his love for Mangan’s sister and his personal emotions.  When the narrator speaks of Mangan’s sister, he uses light.  He gives her a heavenly and joyful presence when he speaks of her.  “The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and falling, lit up the hand upon the railing” (296, paragraph 9).  These words show how the boy admires the girl from the entrance of the house.  “I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood” (295, paragraph 4).  This description of his love for his friend’s sister is filled with observations that he is shy and he will not talk to the girl whom he admires.  As he is shopping with his aunt and surrounded by drunken men, street singers, laborers, and bargaining women in the market, the girl is still on his mind.  When the boy is at school, he begins to answer fewer questions in class and his mind wonders frequently about the girl.  This shows that no matter where the boy is, his mind stays on Mangan’s sister.  “But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like finders running upon the wires (296, paragraph 5).  The description of the boy’s feelings enforces his love for the girl and how he is in his own dream world.    

The setting at the bazaar has the biggest impact on the young boy’s feelings.  The purpose of the trip to the bazaar was to buy something for Mangan’s sister.  When the boy arrives, the bazaar lights are almost off because it is almost closing time.  The place was filled with a “silence like that which pervades a church after a service” (297, paragraph 25).  The boy is shocked as he looks around.  He is not struck by a romantic setting and only sees closed stalls and darkness.  The boy grows angry and frustrated.  The boy notices the changing position of a vase.  This change suggests that the boy’s feelings toward Mangan’s sister will do the same.  After walking around awhile, the boy finally realizes that his trip to the bazaar was useless and life is not what he had dreamed it to be.  

Throughout the story, setting provides facts that are beneficial to a reader so that they will be able to understand the story, the story’s atmosphere, the young boy’s feelings, and the purpose of his trip to the bazaar.  The narrator of the story is older and more mature as he tells the story.  He finally realizes that his experiences and his love for Mangan’s sister is all part of growing up.