Probably no other short story of the 20th century has attracted more attention than Joyce's "Araby." A certain universality of experience makes the story interesting to readers of all ages, as they instinctively respond to an experience that could have been their own. The story suggests the stormy time of adolescence that we have all experienced and the reader sympathizes with the protagonist as he experiences his first crush. In his short but complex story, James Joyce uses images and symbolism to reveal the blind obsession and compulsive behavior characteristic of a boy dealing with his first crush. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The unnamed protagonist of “Araby” is a pre-adolescent boy living in Dublin, Ireland. His life is simple, made up of school and games, until the sister of one of his playmates fascinates him. He studies her lovingly and notices how "her dress [swings] as she moves her body" and longs to touch "the soft string of her hair" (753). These sensual images hint at the obsessive feelings to come. Soon she will be all he can think about. Her image accompanies him "even in the places most hostile to romance": the market and the streets, among the "drunk men and women shopkeepers", among "the imprecations of the laborers, the shrill litanies of the journeymen" (754) . His fixation for her is absolute. He imagines that his feelings for her are a "cup" and that he "has borne it safely through a crowd of enemies" (754). His feelings are so immediate and profound that he says his "eyes were often filled with tears" and he couldn't explain why. As his obsession progresses, he finds that he is unable to speak to her and that even her name gives him an adrenaline rush: "her name was like a call to all my foolish blood" (754). He loses interest in school, as he cannot stop his obsessive thoughts about her: "her image came between me and the page I was forcing myself to read." At night, he locks himself in a room and abandons himself so completely to the vision of her that he feels as if he is about to faint. In order not to lose consciousness, it is to the thought of her that he appeals by murmuring "O love! O love!" again and again (754). These pictures and the girl's sensual descriptions show that he is clearly obsessed with her. This obsession encourages the boy's behavior which can only be defined as compulsive. The boy admits to lying on the floor in the living room every morning "looking at his door" (753). When she appears in the doorway, his compulsive behavior is validated at the sight of her, which makes his “heart skip a beat” (753). He follows her to school every morning and only feels comfortable because he has "always kept her dark figure in his eyes" (753). In one case, his compulsion to watch and follow her every morning is thwarted by his uncle. Because his uncle is in the hallway where he normally awaits the girl's arrival, he is unable to carry out his compulsion. This upsets the usual order of his day and leaves "the house in a bad mood" with a doubtful heart. That evening, instead of playing with his friends, he stands at the window and stares at her house. In characteristic fashion of the obsessed, he loses track of time in his compulsive thoughts about her. He says, “I could have stood there for an hour, seeing nothing but the brown-clad figure created by my imagination” (755). Although he is obsessed with the girl and is forced to look at her and think about her at all times, what he feels for her is beyond his understanding. His love for.