Araby Quiz & Discussion

Any Questions?

Language & Structure

1. Which of the following is NOT a symbol in the story? The bazaar Mangan’s sister Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger. The wild garden behind the house contained a central apple-tree and a few straggling bushes, under one of which I found the late tenant's rusty bicycle-pump. <PowerClick><Answer>3</Answer><Option>4</Option><Point>2</Point></PowerClick>

2. I may have stood there for an hour, seeing nothing but the ___-clad figure cast by my imagination, touched discreetly by the lamplight at the curved neck, at the hand upon the railings and at the border below the dress. silk iron finely brown <PowerClick><Answer>4</Answer><Option>4</Option><Point>2</Point></PowerClick>

Ref. The Boy’s Love -- Mangan’s Sister Images of light vs. browness (pars. 3, 10 vs. 4, 15). Why? She was waiting for us, her figure defined by the light from the half-opened door. [. . .] Her dress swung as she moved her body, and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side. “I kept her brown figure always in my eye”; “the brown-clad figure cast by my imagination ”

3. What makes the story different from “A & P”? It does not describe the appearance of the girl the boy admires. It gives background reasons for the boy’s failure. It does not begin in the middle. It does not have an open ending. <PowerClick><Answer>3</Answer><Option>4</Option><Point>2</Point></PowerClick>

Setting

4. What role does religion play in the story? 1.It supports the boy’s spiritual progress. 2. Its teaching is conveyed through the books the priest left behind. 3. It is confused with romance in the boy’s mind. 4. All of the above. <PowerClick><Answer>3</Answer><Option>4</Option><Point>2</Point></PowerClick>

5. Which of the following does NOT suggest superficiality & materialism? 1. The three young people’s dialogue in the bazaar. 2. In the bazaar, the boy, [giving up the attempt to buy something,] “allow[s] the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in my pocket. ” 3. When the boy leaves the uncle, he recites the opening lines of The Arab's Farewell to his Steed. 4. Mangan’s sister’s interest in Araby. <PowerClick><Answer>2</Answer><Option>4</Option><Point>2</Point></PowerClick>

Ref. images of superficiality & materialism The three young people’s dialogue; ‘fib.’ The uncle’s lack of understanding (in his use of an exotic poem). Materialism, which the quest is contaminated by Par 25: [When starting the trip,]” I held a florin tightly in my hand as I strode down Buckingham Street towards the station. ” Par 26 [in the bazaar,] “I listened to the fall of the coins.” Par 37 [Giving up the attempt to buy something,] “I allowed the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in my pocket. ”  disappointment

Characters

6. Which of the following description is NOT true of the boy? His love of Mangan’s sister makes him lose interest in playing games with his friends. Shy and sensitive, he compares himself to a musician playing music out of the woman as a harp. Waiting to go to Araby, he finds daily duties dull and childish. His love for Mangan’s sister is mixed with religious sentiment. <PowerClick><Answer>2</Answer><Option>4</Option><Point>2</Point></PowerClick>

Ref. The boy’s emotions –religious images [In the market, he] imagined that [he] bore [his] chalice safely through a throng of foes. Speaks of her names “in strange prayers and praises” he does not undertsand, his eyes full of tears. At the priest’s room: “All my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: O love! O love! many times. ”  religious devotion and ecstasy.

Ref. The Boy’s Love -- Mangan’s Sister (2) Religious image (like Virgin Mary) vs. Reality When she talks to him, she turns “a silver bracelet round and round her wrist.” “She held one of the spikes, bowing her head towards me. The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing. It fell over one side of her dress and caught the white border of a petticoat, just visible as she stood at ease.”

Theme

7. Why is the boy’s quest doomed to fail? (Choose the wrong answer) He does not have money. He does not have proper parental guidance (powerless aunt and drunk uncle) Mangan’s sister is also confined. The people in his world are all superficial and indecent. <PowerClick><Answer>4</Answer><Option>4</Option><Point>2</Point></PowerClick>

8. Why doesn’t the boy buy anything? He finds himself driven by vanity. The shop girl is not interested in doing business. It’s too late; he does not know what to buy. All of the above. <PowerClick><Answer>4</Answer><Option>4</Option><Point>2</Point></PowerClick>

9. Discussion Is “Araby” a story of initiation? If so, how is it similar to or different from “A & P”? I allowed the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in my pocket. I heard a voice call from one end of the gallery that the light was out. The upper part of the hall was now completely dark. Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger