Pilgrimage to Clarity After a close examination of the short story “Araby” by James Joyce, several instances of religious symbolism seem to be intertwined throughout the story. The story unfolds from the viewpoint of a young child while simultaneously raising moral questions representative of a much more mature Joyce. This enlightened perspective allows for some very intricate examples of symbolism. Although the symbolism can be observed on two very different levels, the primary goal of …showed first 75 words of 1313 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1313 total…him “out of a sense of duty”(10). A few seconds later the boy realizes the similarities that exist between his infatuation with the girl and his experience at Araby, the last lines of the story illustrate this point to perfection and allows the reader to experience the epiphany with the boy; “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity: and my eyes burned with anguish and anger (11)”.