Dublin In 1914, Ireland was a place of poverty and religious restraint, under the ruling hand of the Christian Church. A place where literary diversity was limited mainly to that of the Irish biblical poets James Joyce published the short story “Araby” as a modern activist who focused on English literature as a story of the early 20th century, my expectations were those of a simple. plot diagram, easily distinguishing the climax and the descending action Joyce shattered all preconceived ideas about what the plot of a short story could be Joyce was the leading modernist writer of the 20th century and changed the way. of which the reader perceives his own perception of life. Say no to plagiarism Get a tailor-made book. essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"?Get the original essayAraby is a story that requires total concentration. , a story that I struggled to find meaning in on my first playthrough, my initial expectations having grown over years of reading books. with happy endings, I spent the last few paragraphs looking for exactly that. Previous readings of plays in Ireland after the 19th century had led me to expect to see a play with a predominantly Christian influence. The one who spoke of enlightenment or the search for faith. I knew Joyce had some plays banned from Ireland by the Church, but I was expecting a traditional atheism play. As I read the story, I was surprised to see the use of the “stream of consciousness” narrative mode. Slowly, you could see the seven deadly sins displayed by the main character. Starting with lust and laziness, I didn't expect to see this in a book from the period. Breaking the seven deadly sins resulted in being punished in hell and thrown into the pit of serpents. Eventually, my expectations shifted to the idea that I lacked a critical sense of history. As the rising action intruded into the typical climax space, my initial expectations began to crumble. Joyce's explanation for the girl he lusted after was that of virgin marriage, a confusing comparison for an article about a seemingly traditional boy. The last paragraph left me in a state of dissatisfaction. I asked myself, “Where is the conclusion?” The explanation for why he left the stranger empty-handed? I immediately reread the story and began to see the references to an epiphany, to the sudden realization that his life was not all that he thought it was. I began to think about my own life and how I could relate to the character's disillusioned thoughts about how he saw the world. All he needed was a change in perspective, something so obvious that he and I had seen it so far. With each re-watch of Araby, my previous expectations were exceeded. There was a hidden message of the daily drudgery that I could tell, an interesting twist. The final epiphany was integral to the shattering of my expectations, as it was the final crack in my hope for a happy ending. It was not the epiphany of good enlightenment, but of painful realization that I and many others experience as we grow into adulthood. Abandonment, complete loss of care, realization that fantasies have been misled