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"Araby" by James Joyce and "A Sunrise On The Veld" by Doris Lessing are both short stories in which the protagonists gained a consciousness that was beyond themselves. The main characters are both initiated into new realities and truths of which they were not previously aware. Both short stories will be examined with reflections according to the type of initiation that was experienced, the nature of the narrators, the similar and dissimilar aspects of both characters and various components of the short stories. In the two stories, both characters were experiencing an initiation or awareness of new actualities that were outside of themselves. The main characters both painfully learned that this initiation was beyond their control. It was impossible for them to ignore the new realities which they both came to understand. The new found awareness was so powerful that it changed each boy’s entire outlook and they both began to see the world through new eyes. The type of initiation both characters had was a distressing journey from innocence to knowledge and experience. The two narrators had different attitudes and reactions to the initiation experience. In Araby, the reader learns of the boy’s initiation in the final sentence:"Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger."1 The character had a negative reaction to his new awareness. His realization caused him to have feelings of shame, anguish and anger. He was possessed and controlled by his passion for Mangan’s older sister. His ideals of the girl were not realistic but were futile and vain. The girl drew out feelings in him and he discovered that feelings must be reciprocated and the downside that love can also be painful. He had a difficult time accepting his own weakness. He was in distress because he had stopped for a moment and gazed up into the darkness and realized that his previous feelings were wonderful but the only reality existed in his feelings. It had no existence beyond how he felt and the understanding of this was painful for the character.
Approximate Word count = 1368
Approximate Pages = 5.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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