Assignment 12: Informal writing on Irish writing

James Joyce's short story Araby shares a similar theme to his short story Eveline, that of struggling with escape. Each story features a character who is in a transitional period trying to escape their background and their past.

The main character in Araby has a strong religious background, and has related this to his infatuation with his friend Mangan's sister. He sees her deified, raised to divinity in his mind by the places he encounters her, and quickly offers to win her favour by going to the 'Araby' and fetching her something. He struggles over his new crush, which reveals to himself how he is "a creature driven and derided by vanity". 

The titular character of Eveline is planning to leave her home and start a new life in Buenos Aires, leaving her family and her responsibilities behind. She considers the events that have lead her to this decision, and struggles with her reasoning: whether it was too selfish to just up and leave it all for her own sake.