Araby

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Research and Analysis: Identifying Joyce in ‘Araby’”

In this activity, students will write a research paper analyzing how Joyce incorporated his background into “Araby.”

Throughout his works, Joyce incorporated elements of his past into his writings. For this Activity, you will research Joyce’s background and family history and analyze “Araby” for references to his life. Use the following questions to structure your research paper:

• What is Joyce’s background?
• How did Joyce use his background in his texts?
• How did Joyce incorporate the themes of Love and Religion, Innocence and Shame, or Death and Absence throughout his various texts?
• Which elements in “Araby” from his background are most prominent?

After drafting your paper, share your work with a classmate in a peer-review process. Finally, share an abstract of your work with your classmates in an informal presentation and consider the similarities and differences of analysis among your classmates.

Teaching Suggestion: This Activity invites students to make connections between Joyce’s life and his writings, specifically “Araby,” in the format of a research and analysis paper. Depending on the level of the class, this Activity is a good opportunity to introduce students to the research paper submission process (i.e. initial research, annotated bibliography, thesis statement, outline, drafting, peer review, and abstract). This resource is a thorough overview of Joyce’s life as well as his works and is a good starting point for students in their research.

Differentiation Suggestion: For further research and analysis, particularly for more advanced classes, the following question may be added to the research paper as an additional section: Select one of Joyce’s other works in Dubliners and compare and contrast the incorporation of his background into this piece with “Araby.” Which themes overlap? How does “Araby” fit into the context of Dubliners as a whole? What themes echo the broader ideas of the collection of stories?