Although the short stories "A&P" by John Updike and "Araby" by James Joyce are written in different countries and time periods both short stories have many similarities. The protagonists of each narrative have an immense interest in young women due to them being both adolescent males dealing with their hormones. This is apparent in "A&P" when Sammy sees the three girls walk into the grocery store in their bathing suits and reacts by doing the following, "[Sammy] stood here with my hand of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not" (Updike 1). The protagonist, Sammy, is being controlled by his urges to stare at the three girls and forgets about reality. Similarly, the protagonist of "Araby" develops an infatuation with Mangan's sister by displaying how he follows her and knows her schedule. His obsession originates from his ignorance …show more content…
As well as, the protagonist in “Araby” believes the way to Mangan’s sister’s heart is being materialistic. The protagonist arrives to the bazaar late with the expectation to buy a trinket for Mangan’s sister but he does not have enough money. The protagonist did not succeed in his objective of buying Mangan’s sister a present and has broken his promise to her. Also, both protagonists of the short stories have their own coming of age experience. In “A&P” the three girls are the catalyst for Sammy to quit his job and become free from his his expectations of his parents. This becomes obvious when Lengels states, “Sammy you don’t want to do this to your Mom and Dad” (Updike 3). Simultaneously, the protagonist in “Araby” comes to the realization the meaning of his feelings towards Mangan’s sister. The protagonist's innocent feeling for Mangan’s sister are actually sexual desires and money cannot buy it (Wells 3). The protagonist’s of the short stories “A&P” and “Araby” are parallel to each other by undergoing similar conflicts and