exaggerated. After seeing her figure defined by the light, the boy imagines that he will heroically bring her something back from the bazaar because she is unable to go, “If I go, I will bring you something” (Joyce, 17). He is so taken aback by her presence that he doesn’t even realize that he means nothing to her and that a gift will not change that status. The light that the boy sees Mangan’s sister in is used to create a joyful atmosphere and at the same time show how nave the boy is to what is actually happening. He doesn’t realize that he’s being blinded by the light in the manner that all he sees is her beauty; he doesn’t realize that she cares almost nothing for him in any sort of romantic sense. Darkness rarely is mentioned at the same time we see Mangan’s sister through the boy’s eyes because she is not real, at least not in the sense that the boy sees her. She is like an angel to him and almost perfect in every way which reasserts the idea that light represents mere fantasy in “Araby.” The ending of the story we see many references to the theme of light and darkness. When he arrives at the bazaar “nearly all the stalls were closed and the greater part of the hall was in darkness” (Joyce, 19), which is a reality in the boy’s life because no matter how much he wants the bazaar to be bright and open, it is closing. It is almost as if the light, the joy that he felt about Mangan’s sister, was about to be turned off or is quickly dying out and all he has left is the reality of darkness in his drab life. Joyce uses the lights of the bazaar to illustrate the boy's confrontation with reality. It is at that moment, when he stands in the almost completely dark hall, that the boy finally realizes that life is not what he had dreamt it to be and he is left feeling angry at life and disillusioned with its reality. He was so blinded by her &...
