In both Updike’s “A&P” and Joyce’s “Araby,” the themes that exist are dependent on the use of words and the interpretation of the symbolism. In “A&P,” the bathing suit clad girls that Sammy envisions as living glamorous lives represents Sammy’s longing for a more adventurous life, outside of his small beachside town. In “Araby,” the boy’s desire and eventual heartbreak at the unknowing hands of Mangan’s sister is …showed first 75 words of 1603 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1603 total…used. The dead priest’s possessions and the spike really show that the boy is alone and lacks that love that he thought he had with Mangan’s sister, but that too left him alone. Hopefully he grew up to find a love in his life, but there is the possibility that he never has found it, as it seems that the story was written many years later after the first heartbreak in his life.