Araby is one of the many stories in James Joyce's collection; Dubliners. One thing in which I can infer from this story is the disenchantment of a false reality, and the story allows the readers to view a utopian world through the child's lens. I am still astonished that Joyce provides a broad vocabulary for the child to narrate this story, however, the child's exemplary language made Araby's romanticization of the world possible. The story also contains strong symbolic significance and instils the idea of a harsh reality from many aspects of the child's life. From the beginning of the story, Joyce foreshadows the world's constraints through the house that was owned by a priest. The priest's house symbolizes sanctity, which the world does not possess. The child is aware that the house lacks spiritual presence as he only finds the priest's worldly belongings and finds the house airless. The child describes, "Air, musty from having been long enclosed, hung in all the rooms, and the waste room behind the kitchen was littered with old useless papers". Joyce also took away the concept of a perfect nuclear family and leaves the child with his aunt and uncle, so this is another harsh approach that allows the child to take a step further to disillusionment. Part of the story where the child enchants over the girl is filled with so much naivety, and this pure admiration pushes the child into believing a world of hopeful possibilities. However, the child's description of the girl is slightly associated with sensuality, which again, is already tainting the child's utopia. He also carries the girl's image in his prayers, and the child is aware of this slight discomfort he finds in his profane behaviour and thoughts. He explains, "Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand".

I find it truly unfortunate that the child is unaware of the insensitivity surrounding him and only realizes this until the very end of the story. There are several instances that prove the world's ignorance for the child's concerns. The boy explained, "She asked me was I going to Araby". To other people and the girl, this is just a simple concern. However, through the boy's lens, the girl's question enchanted him, and just like that, he was out of touch with reality. Insensitivity is also shown in the household when the boy's uncle forgot about the bazaar, and this event is another introduction to the inimical world. After the boy's arrival in Araby, he sees a woman talking with two men, disregarding the boy's presence. The boy is not only frustrated by the lack of attention, but the sight of the three people's interaction disturbs his idea of monogamy. He also feels that the woman was just talking out of duty, which in reality, she is just doing her job. Araby finally lost its mystical atmosphere after the boy finally realizes that no one, but himself, values his dreams. At the end of the story, the child finds his vicinity to be prosaic and mundane, and this put him into desolation.

Joyce clearly understood the inimical reality that all people faces, and the story flawlessly presents how the mind of a child works. Araby undoubtedly brought back memories of carrying a sense of adventure and naivety wherever I go, and just like the boy, at some point in everyone's lives, we all come to a disillusionment and finally get to see the world as it is.