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How History of Chivalry
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How History of Chivalry and Knights Informs Understanding of Araby by James Joyce
The short story Araby by James Joyce is a first-person narration published in Dubliners, a compilation of 15 other short stories in 1914. The story follows the story of a young boy who is the narrator and his infatuation with his childhood friend’s sister. Araby traces Ireland’s colonization in the 19th century by Great Britain. For many centuries romantic gestures were useful motives in winning women’s hearts. However, society has been changing constantly hence diminishing the effectiveness of such acts of chivalry. This theory comes out vividly in the story as we see how the efforts of the young boy to impress his crush fail. With time, the boy comes to the realization that the entire chivalric view including romantic gestures is counterproductive in modern times. The short story shows how rapidly the world of the characters is changing and that chivalry is growing obsolete by the day. The purpose of this text is to explain how research into the history of chivalry and knights informs our understanding of Araby by James Joyce.
The young boy in the story, also the narrator, spends a lot of time fantasizing about Mangan’s older sister. The narrator spends plenty of time admiring her from a distance. The first time the two met was when Mangan and the boy are playing outside and Mangan’s sister calls them for supper (Joyce, 3). When the narrator finally gets an opportunity to speak to her, she tells him about an event taking place at the bazaar. The fair titled Araby is sponsored by the church. The girl revealed to him that she was not in a position to attend and asks if he would go. The narrator is tongue-tied for a bit before agreeing to go. The narrator saw it as a chance to impress the girl she admires and has a crush on. He even promises to bring her a gift from the fair. It is clear that the boy is overwhelmed by his feelings. He wants to do this chivalrous act for her hoping that it would win her affection.
On the material day of the fair, the boy has to wait for hours for his drunken uncle to come back home as he is the only one who can give him the money he needs to attend the event. The boy gets anxious and is tells his aunt that he foresees himself missing the fair. Thankfully his uncle returns and says that he had forgotten about the bazaar. He gives the boy the coin who hurries to catch the train. Unfortunately, the boy arrives as the fair is closing. He tries to get a gift to take to his crush. He approaches one of the stalls that remained open. The stall was owned by an English woman who according to the boy did not treat him well. In the text, Joyce writes that “she seemed to have spoken to me out of a sense of duty”. The boy overhears a conversation between the English lady and two men who happen to be gossiping. The attendant reluctantly asks the boy what he wants to buy but the boy declines. He slowly walks away out of the fall in the middle of darkening lights as he thinks he is a “creature driven and derided by vanity”. He is angry with himself and feels embarrassed with the realization that he would not be getting her crush anything. In the text, the boy’s “eyes burned with anguish and anger.” Judging from the history of chivalry, it is emerging that the reason why the boy did not want to go back home empty handed is that he wanted to impress the girl (Chuto, 115). Further, he had already told her to expect a gift that is why he did that entire he could to go to the bazaar even after his uncle returned home late. He went through lots of trouble just to go event from showing up when the event was ending to encountering inconsiderate shop attendants.
The way the boy behaves points to a similar portrayal of Britain’s domination over Ireland. In a chivalry system, there are various social, moral, and religious codes attached to other noblemen and knights collectively. The author of the story, Joyce, portrays the way Ireland was culturally, socially, economically, and politically dominated. The narrator was just following in the footsteps of how he was been raised and how romance happened at the time. Men were expected to use romantic gestures to win the affection of women and similarly, the boy was prepared to do just about anything to attend the fair and bring back a gift as promised (Gerber, 215). This is despite being interested in the event and his uncle forgetting about it. The narrator feels a blind love for his friend’s sister. The feelings he has for the girl distorts his view of reality. Joyce writes about a lack of vision and blurriness in the text to show the extent to which the boy is blinded. All this life, the boy’s life is surrounded by darkness and after attending the bazaar fair, his eyes are open for the first time in his life. He can see clearly. He finally realizes that the relationship he was yearning to have with Mangan’s sister is simply unattainable. He admits it was built on a fantasy that would never come true and that his search for the perfect gift was a waste of effort, money, and time. Defeated by society and himself, he understands that external and internal forces opposing him are too strong for him to overcome. He goes back home to his aunt and uncle knowing that the relationship he had hoped to have with the girl he was in love with would never materialize. He comes back with new knowledge regarding himself, about life, and his role and place in society. Further, the boy develops increased self-awareness and he knows that moving forward, he must set for himself goals that are realistic.
In closing, Araby by James Joyce brings us to the understanding that in the current world, cats of chivalry such as extreme gestures of romance are begging to slowly become obsolete. With the world constantly changing, chivalry is becoming rather counterproductive. The implication of this argument is that people are becoming more self-aware to set realistic goals. After having a crush on his friend’s sister for a long time, it took the boy a trip to the bazaar to realize that his plan would never materialize. He went to great lengths just to impress this girl but at the end of the day, he ended up not winning the affection of the girl. The history of chivalry and knights as revealed in the short story goes to show that all the effort does not matter to girls because society continues to develop over time and with time such actions of chivalry have only become more and more useless.
Works Cited
Chuto, Jacques. “‘Mangan’s Sister’in’Araby’: What’s in a Name?.” Dublin James Joyce Journal 9.1 (2016): 111-121.
Gerber, Richard J. “Anima in” Araby”.” Joyce Studies Annual (2019): 210-228.
Joyce, James, et al. Araby. HarperPerennial Classics, 2014.
Exploring Singapore on a Budget
Exploring Singapore on a Budget
Singapore boasts itself for its traditional and ultramodern places for people to explore, however that aside it can be very expensive if one does not know where to benchmark the bargain. Fortunately, this article offers some interesting insights on how one can explore Singapore on a budget regarding different aspects of travel.
Air Tickets:
Do some homework and find a budget airline, which has the best deal around. You can do this by comparing the price of various airlines prior to making your final decision, and it is important to be mindful that your goal is to explore Singapore on a budget. One way you can do this is by being flexible on your departure dates. Normally it costs less to fly during the middle of the week. Some of the most popular budget airlines with the local include; Jetstar Asia, AirAsia and Tiger Airway.
Accommodation:
You may consider staying at YMCA. Situated just a few yards off Scotts Road and Orchard Road, in the middle of the Singapore’s buzzing entertainment, shopping and business district of Chinatown, Marina Square and Shenton Way. At the YMCA you can both go for the Metro-Y Dorm or Metropolitan Y because they cater for travelers and remember to make online reversion.
Sightseeing:
Singapore has several free attractions, and the following are some of the places that you may consider visiting.
When you want some spectacular view of the northern cityscape and the southern coastline you can climb Mount Faber. Mount Faber is one of the magnificent sites in Singapore to view sunset.
You can take a walk to Singapore heartland, there Tampines and Tao Payoh are exhilarating.
Go to NEWater Visitor Center. The center offers a marvelous learning experience and you will definitely learn how NEWater is generated.
A visit to Singapore will not be complete without a stopover at Vivo City, which is the biggest Shopping in the country.
You can have a glimpse at Marina Barrage, the latest icon in Singapore. Located at the center of the newly established Marina South district.
Nightlife
Stroll around from Boat Quay to Clarke Quay for some thrilling nightlife. You can have a couple of beer cans ranging from 11 from any of the convenient shops and head to Raffles Landing to enjoy your drinks.
Souvenirs
For you love souvenirs you can go to Little India or Chinatown for good quality and affordable souvenirs. One captivating element among these souvenir stores is that prices are negotiable and you should be prepared to bargain to land incredible offer. The other memorable souvenir that you may consider is taking photos. Pictures are very affordable and you can keep them for a long duration.
I hope this article as promised has delivered some great help to exploring Singapore on Budget, and this will definitely be functional for your travel planning.
Documentary Reflection “The Two Escobars”
Documentary Reflection: “The Two Escobars”
Sports, including soccer, play vital roles in promoting wellbeing and improvement of living standards of people. Accordingly, the documentary elaborates on how citizens of a nation called Colombia in South America, led relatively better lives following the dramatic growth and development of soccer. Precisely, soccer, and probably other sporting events, could results in a significant reduction of poverty while increasing a sense of self-worth among citizens of a country. Moreover, impressive performance and excellence in sports could make patriotic citizens more proud of their nation. Since it is almost always expectable for humans to associate themselves with successful individuals, Colombians could not hide their satisfaction and joy while showing high levels of patriotism. As such, each football player and other concerned persons, especially those who realize substantial benefits from a sporting event would demonstrate a high degree of unity as they strive to ensure that their team continues with their excellent performance. A struggle for a common goal could encourage all the involved and interested parties to act in unison by disregarding their diversities in particular aspects such as culture, ethnicity or religion. In Colombia, for instance, Presidential cabinet, coaches, and players exhibited reasonable commitment, devotion and support for soccer to encourage more unity, pride and sense of self-worth (Zimbalist & Zimbalist, 2010). Unfortunately, deviant behaviours could discourage national unity, pride and self-worth by facilitating undesired practices that may include murder and money laundering. Therefore, excellent performance in soccer, and possibly other sporting events, would promote national unity, a sense of self-worth and pride among citizens of a given country when persons with deviant behaviours are contained.
Moreover, persons who engage in money laundering and drug trafficking could draw massive revenue that is used to gain more political power and support from communities that constitute beneficiaries of the practices (Desroches, 2003). As such, it would be difficult for the concerned authorities to address the deviant social behaviour because of the enormous support from society. Likewise, drug “lords” in Colombia were “selectively ignored” since they had strong backing from their communities. Catastrophic consequences that may include civil conflicts and killings could emerge if such types of individuals are incarcerated or punished for their deviant acts. For instance, the death of Pablo Escobar resulted in social disorder and disintegration of national unity. Subsequently, hatred and conflicts that led to the death of Andreas Escobar developed. Therefore, it could be impossible to dissociate Colombia’s social issues with its soccer because the sporting event relied primarily on support from persons with deviant behaviours. That is, Colombia’s soccer could not thrive if not for the presence of the drug “lords” that provided financial support as well as the development of necessary infrastructure. Hence, a social problem could act as a strong basis for promoting sporting events.
While this documentary focuses on drug trafficking and money laundering in soccer, racism is another social issue that has prevailed through the sport of football (Cleland & Cashmore, 2014). Specifically, some players from the minority ethnic groups, Asians and the Blacks have encountered instances of racism. Unfortunately, racism attracts undesired impacts that include lack of motivation among players. As a result, some players could opt to leave the playing fields while those who continue playing may perform poorly. Subsequently, the varied social issues have adversely impacted on the image of soccer. Some parties that could otherwise be interested in football may feel discouraged and perceive that this is not a suitable sporting event. Hence, soccer may not develop well if such social issues are not addressed adequately.
Reference
Cleland, J., & Cashmore, E. (2014). Fans, racism and British football in the twenty-first Century: the existence of a ‘colour-blind’ideology. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 40(4), 638-654.
Desroches, F. J. (2003). 10 Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime in Canada: A Study of High-Level Drug Networks. Critical reflections on transnational organized crime, money laundering and corruption, 237.
Zimbalist & Zimbalist (2010). The Two Escobars. ESPN, Incorporated.