Comparing Death in Araby and The Metamorphosis Essay -- comparison com

Death in Araby and The Metamorphosis   Many readers have commented on the contrast of light and darkness in the story Araby by James Joyce. Perhaps the death of the non-Christian priest in Araby adds to the darkness that the boy experiences when he is thinking about Mangans sister, as contrasted with the light he experiences when he is in reality in her presence. It is interesting that the death of the priest does not become so dark until Mangans sister is introduced. In the first scene where the boy visits the priests old mode, he rummages around and finds some treasures, including paper-covered books, and the late tenants rusty bicycle pump. There is no sense of gloom here, in fact, the boy seems to be having fun exploring and discovering things, and reminisces about how the priest had been a very charitable priest in a rather disconnected way. But later, after the boys crush on Mangans sister has been introduced, this dead priests dwell takes on a very different char acter. This is the place where the boy retreats on a stormy night while his emotions are churning inside him. It is no longer a place to explore, but has taken on almost a sacred character. Here the boy experiences his most impassioned moment of unconnected prayers and praises, pressing the palms of his hands together until they trembled, murmuring Oh Love Oh Love many times. You can almost feel the presence of the dead priest in the room on this dark rainy evening as the boy is praying, in a way that you would not feel his presence if he were merely on vacation. The fact that he has died here in this very room adds to the drama and it intensifies the boys emotions. Maybe the boy was thinking that the priest was watching him from he... ...ere really what the family needed to take in living their own lives. In this story the deaths of Gregor serve to make obvious where he really stands in the family, and what the real situation is. If he had not glowering into a bug and ultimat ely died, neither he nor the family would have ever known that what he was doing for them wasnt really helping them. Gregors deaths also showed that the family didnt really care that very much about him, and werent that grateful for his sacrifices. It brings out the contrast between what Gregor was willing to do for his family (die) and what his family was willing to do for him (not very much). They wanted to get rid of him once his train started demanding too much from them. Gregors death turns him into a sort of tragic hero. If the story ended differently, I think readers would feel less sympathetic towards him.