CANDY

I wish I could turn lyrics from Dallas Greens beautiful voice and turn them into the most desirable man that walks this earth

ratchetmess:

Aye Juliet stopeth ye bullshit. Poppeth thy pussy for a real nigga such as I, Romeo.

(via oneloveliz)

(via thenocturnals)

“Do you even know how to read a map?” Caroline

“Yes, you know who taught me to read them? My friend Magellan.” -Klaus

isyr:

sovii:

so beautiful

so bright

(via frenzetic)

New Catching Fire poster!

(via mystrea)

James Joyce’s short story Araby demonstrates many ideas and themes relating to the cultural movement that is modernism. The main character is trapped in a routine where the images his mind produces are charged with deep meaning that he is forming himself without the help of reality. When he visits Araby there is only one shop open, but its contents are plain, typical items. At this point in the story the main character has an epiphany; a realization that the world he had imagined in his mind was not what he thought and that he would not be able to fulfill his desire for this woman, even if she were fully his. This realization is evident through Joyce’s use of language throughout the story including the abrupt ending and complete change in the attitude of the character including his outlook on the world around him. Using modernist thought to connect to the world around it, Araby calls attention to the plight of the man in the late 1890s.

The majority of the story is focused on this character’s obsession with this woman. He views Mangan’s sister as a “brown-figure” but the story is set in Dublin and they were most likely fair-skinned. This view of her as an exotic-eastern woman is a continuation of the main character’s view of the world around him. Even when the boy gives the first description of this woman he says, “Her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side” (Rainey, 212). Using only tangible words as descriptive nouns, this woman becomes an object to the main character, something to be acquired. The routine of watching her and following her everyday and claiming that, “her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood,” reveals his thoughts and emotions (212). This woman is a representation of the Eastern ideal that many people of the time were intrigued by. The title of the story Araby encourages this idea that the main character has never been to the bazaar or talked to this woman, but already created expectations in his mind about each.

             The background of James Joyce is interesting in relation to this story. It would appear that the boy in the story would have been living with his Uncle for some reason and his Uncle seems to be some-what wealthy but the boy was humble enough to give some of the little money he had to a man on the streets. This could only be a reflection of Joyce’s life growing up since he jumped around the social classes. More often poor than stable, Joyce would truly know the hardships of a Dubliner during the Industrial Revolution and the after effects.

Not only is the main character stuck in this routine because of his age most likely, but he is also like every other able-bodied person during the Industrial Revolution, forced into a routine. The Industrial Revolution called for many to change their lifestyles and become a cog in the wheel. Araby seems to be attempting to show someone pulling away from this and give individuality a try. Although he is unsuccessful, the main character of Araby still manages to see the light at the end of the tunnel. “I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger” (215). He is not satisfied with the outcome of his understanding but there is understanding, which allows for the main character to grow closer to knowing the world around him.

Joyce’s use of language changes the mood of the paragraph and allows for the main character to seem as if the world was at his beckoning. On the way to the bazaar the boy describes his train as a ‘special’ train and says the bus ‘crept along’ on the journey there. “I recognized a silence like that which pervades a church after a service. I walked into the centre of the bazaar timidly” (214). With the man at the center of the world he becomes part of the modernist utopia. The reference to older books in the beginning of the story shows a respect for reflection and growth. Joyce describes the old pages of the book as ‘yellow leaves’ perhaps to make a connection to nature.

The modernist movement was focused on looking for a lost center. Araby successfully demonstrates someone looking to become whole in the world but without success. This boy is searching for something to believe in and has chosen this woman. “I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes. Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand” (213). This boy does not even understand his own thought process or actions of his emotions, but is unquestioning of their purpose because of his complete adoration of this woman. Modernist thought heavily focuses on the individual and the search for identity and selfhood. Araby shows this idea through the confusion of this boy and his search for the self. The boy does not find himself when he is looking but when he is able to realize how the world he lives in operates. Joyce displays how a harsh reality can temporarily anger someone but will open their mind and expand what they know about their lives.

The use of myth is a feature of modernism that Araby taps into. Joyce takes reality of the woman being a fair-skinned average woman and the bazaar that is no more than an English flea market and makes them beautiful through his art form, transcending them from normal to mythic. Even the main character takes on mythic characteristics when he refers to himself as a ‘creature’ at the end of the story. Even the title and the ideas of Arabia and exotic east are mythic ideas and exaggerations told by travelers with weary memories. Cultural differences were fascinating to these people, which is evident through the main character and his obsession with this eastern culture. Myth allows for the reality of it all to be stark as well as obvious to readers.

The main characters sudden change in mood at the end of the story is quick and short. Joyce uses the word ‘dark’ twice at the end of the story, describing the night along with the mood of the character and story. If this story were to progress further the characters entire life may be altered from this experience, changing his personality, values, ideals, and even thought-process completely. Without a gift to take to the woman, his ideas of her changed completely, and his world-view altered, this boy feels anguish. His life forever changed because his uncle was not home on time.

Joyce’s Araby guides the twentieth century reader through the process of breaking everyday routine to live a life of intellect. The characters epiphany allows for him to have an open-minded view of the world around him but cost him the illusion he had so delicately created to protect himself from the harsh truths. The use of exotic eastern images and words give this story a mythic vibe associated with modernism while it also is very realistic in its description of the day-to-day life of Dublin citizens. The main characters veil has been lifted but it is unclear to the reader whether he will benefit from this experience or if it will cause his demise.

(via iancurtiswishlists)