Abstract

Araby, the third short story selected from Dubliners by James Joyce, demonstrates to us the disillusionment of a boy and a paralysed wilderness pervading in Dublin by telling the story of a boy’s seeking for his first love. This paper aims to analyze and appreciate the symbols regarding the setting, religion and characters in Araby and ends with the conclusion that the ingenious use of symbols in Araby contributes immensely to the manifestation of the theme of the short story—the paralysis pervading in Dublin and the revelation of the inevitable disillusionment of the boy’s dream under such an environment.

Key words: Araby bazaar, symbol, spiritual paralysis, disillusionment, Dublin

摘 要

《阿拉比》是詹姆斯•乔伊斯的短篇小说集《都柏林人》中的第三篇，通过讲述主人公男孩追求爱情的故事，展示了瘫痪的都柏林和男孩理想爱情的幻灭。本文旨在赏析《阿拉比》中有关背景、宗教和人物的象征，从而得出结论：《阿拉比》中象征手法的巧妙运用有助于深刻地揭示主题——瘫痪的都柏林，以及揭示男孩在这种环境下理想幻灭的必然性。

关键词：阿拉比市场；象征；精神瘫痪；理想幻灭；都柏林

1.    Introduction
     James Joyce, an Irish novelist, is considered to be one of the most influential writers in the 20th century. As the pioneer of the modernist literature, he dedicated himself to the reform of the traditional novel forms and opened up an innovational road for the modernist literature. He skillfully adopted the technique of “stream-of-consciousness” and symbolism in his writings. His major works include Ulysses, Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Finnega’s Wake, of which Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories, and the others are long novels.
Joyce was born in Dunlin in a Catholic family, where he experienced an unforgettable childhood and youth. But “the dissatisfaction with the narrowness and bigotry of Irish church” drove him to exile from Dublin in his twenties. The life in Dublin influenced him in his later life and works. Many prototypes of his characters and subjects can be found in his life in Dublin. Joyce exquisitely portrays different kinds of people in Dublin in his works.