Joyce's "Araby" Alwan's "Love and Rain" and the initiation story

Abstract

Initiation is part of the social process that man undergoes in different stages of his life. Most literary works that present such experience have a young adolescent as subject. The different changes and problems facing this adolescent constitute the subject matter of these works. This paper takes James Joyce's "Araby" and Mohammed Alwan's "Love and Rain" and compares them to ascertain the different elements of the initiation story and to achieve a better understanding of both stories. By examining both similarities and differences, this paper points out three stages through which the initiate goes through: separation, difficulty, and new awareness of reality. The writers of the initiation story also give their protagonists active imagination and linguistic problems. Furthermore, the writers give the experience a mythical/religious dimension.