Setting

The narrator pays considerable attention to the environment of the story “Araby” by James Joyce, as in most of the short stories in the collection “Dubliners”. The author intended to capture through this collection the lives and typologies of people living in Dublin and the social life of the city.

Physical settings

The story “Araby” by James Joyce is set in Dublin, with the narrator describing several physical locations, starting with North Richmond Street and continuing with the whole neighbourhood he lives in and his house, ...

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Social settings

These depictions of the physical locations contribute to establishing the atmosphere, but also hint at the social setting. Like the streets and the houses, the lives of Dubliners are harsh and lack any fulfilments. Furthermore, we can interpret the physical location as a foreshadowing element of the boy’s failure, who gives up attempting to conquer love.

The social environment is also depicted when the narrator describes the people he encounters on the streets, as they are typical of Dublin: drunken men, shop men, and women or workers:

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Also, here we will discuss the time setting of the story "Araby" by James Joyce.