Author(s)

Ya Ma

Affiliation(s)

Keystone Academy, Beijing 101318, China.

Corresponding Author

Ya Ma

ABSTRACT

The passage from adolescence to a nuanced understanding of the world often encompass a painful confrontation between idealized internal realms and indifferent external realities. The short stories, namely John Updike’s "A&P" and James Joyce’s "Araby" both masterfully portray this arduous journey through the experiences of their young protagonists, Sammy and the unnamed narrator, respectively. While separated by setting and social milieu, these two characters are united by their youthful idealism and their fervent, often misguided, navigation of a world that fails to meet their romanticized expectations. A comparative analysis of Sammy and the “Araby” narrator reveals a shared, profound head-heart disproportion where emotional impulses consistently override rational assessment. However, their agency manifests in distinctly different ways: Sammy's as a performative rebellion seeking external validation, while the "Araby" narrator's is an internalized quest. Ultimately, their trajectories of disillusionment lead to divergent forms of moral insight, with Sammy achieving a melancholic yet pragmatic acceptance of the "hardness" of the adult world, contrasting sharply with the "Araby" narrator's violent, self-lacerating awakening of personal vanity and folly.

KEYWORDS

Disillusionment; Adolescence; Idealism vs. Reality; Agency; Moral insight; John Updike; James Joyce

CITE THIS PAPER

Ya Ma. The anatomy of disillusionment: from romantic idealism to moral insight in John Updike’s A&P and James Joyce’s Araby. Psychology, Health, and Behavioral Sciences. 2025, 2(1): 57-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/phbs3013.

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