What does the bazaar represent in the story? How does Joyce develop the symbolic meaning of the bazaar throughout the story?

In "Araby," we meet a protagonist who is infatuated with his neighbour's sister. She suggest that he goes to "Araby," a Middle Eastern bazaar that is in town.

In the story, the bazaar symbolizes everything that is new and exotic, and an opportunity for the character to escape his dull life. Joyce develops this meaning by associating the bazaar with the sister, and contrasting it with dull images of Dublin.

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annyksl annyksl · Answer 2 · 2021-09-17T18:29:27+02:00

The bazaar means something new, exotic, and different.

Although you have not presented the text that these questions are referring to, we can state, through questions similar to yours, that you are referring to "Araby," written by James Joyce.

When reading "Araby" we have access to the following information:

The story takes place in a very monotonous city where nothing exciting happens.
People live apathetic because they are trapped in this monotony.
The city begins to host a bazaar, called Araby and this breaks the monotony of the city.
The bazaar represents a novelty, something exotic, eccentric, and exciting to residents.
That's because the bazaar is something different from the monotony of the city and presents things from the Middle East, which are exotic and different for the citizens.

Thus, we can say that the bazaar represents a break from the monotony and present a point of curiosity in history.