Chapter 12: "Is That a Symbol?"

Along with the biblical allusions in Araby, there is symbolism regarding Mangan's sister behind the fence. Throughout the whole story of Araby, the young boy is obsessed with Mangan's sister. However; Mangan's sister is older than the young main character of this story. The first thing that needs to happen is to break down what the purpose of a fence is. Odd right? It will help, trust me. A fence is a boundary; it is meant to keep certain things out and certain things in. In this case it is meant to keep out our young boy, it is a symbol that Mangan's sister can never be reached because she will always be unattainable. The sister does not share the same feelings that the young boy does. If someone doesn't feel the same way as you do, it is usually a hopeless cause. The fence can also be a symbol of a wall, the young boy spends countless hours trying to break down that wall just to get to Mangan's sister. While doing this, he completely forgets to participate in actual life just to keep focusing on her. As in usual love, he doesn't realize how much time he spent on a cause that nothing will come from until the end. More often than not that is too late.