Modernist Elements in James Joyce's "Araby"

Greetings,

I am currently studying James Joyce's "Araby" for a short story class.
Specifically I am looking at the modernist elements in this story.
The assignment posed by my instructor is as follows:

You are to write your paper on the modernist elements as expressed in
James Joyce's "Araby."

I am posting the paper that I wrote in response to the assignment
above to see if anyone would like to share thier thoughts on how I can
improve the paper. The paper appears below. Your constructive
criticism is welcome.

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During the 20th century, a new literary movement emerged in
literature. This was the modernist movement, wherein new forms of
literary theories developed because of social and political events
which occurred during that period. Writers were greatly influenced by
World War I, an event that made many authors disillusioned because of
the atrocities of the war. During this time, modernist writers
communicated their fears and opinions through unique new writing
styles. An example of modernist literature is James Joyce's short
story entitled, "Araby." Modernism was manifested in the story
through the deconstruction of social norms that prevailed in society
at the time. The power that the female character demonstrated over
the young male in the story deconstructed the norm of male dominance.
Joyce's view of Roman Catholicism, were also intricately woven into
the story. A quote from the famous modernist writer Virginia Woolf
effectively describes some results of the modernist movement: "On or
about December 1910, human character changed. All human relations
shifted, those between masters and servants, husbands and wives,
parents and children. And when human relations shift there is at the
same time a change in religion, conduct, politics, and literature."

The main character of the story also served as the narrator, which was
a characteristic feature of modernist fictional works. "Araby" was
almost completely composed of the internal thoughts and realities of
the narrator. This technique is known as the stream of consciousness
and relies on internal descriptions, which the reader must use to
deduce external plot or action from the thoughts of the characters.
Joyce's writing technique allowed the reader to see things the way the
boy saw them; to be as innocent and wistful as he was, and thus feel
the incredible intensity of his eventual epiphany.

The narrator was attracted to Mangan's sister. She had power over him
as she managed to attract and manipulate him sexually: "The light
from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck,
lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon
the railing. It fell over one side of her dress and caught the white
border of a petticoat, just visible as she stood at ease." This went
against the social norm at the time, which usually placed males in
positions of power. Because he was so attracted to her narrator felt
compelled to provide Mangan's sister with a material gift, but he was
unable to. His failure created a sense of disillusionment and
frustration: "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature
driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and
anger."

The setting for "Araby" was Dublin, Ireland around the turn of the
century. The Roman Catholic Church had a great hold on the country at
that time in history. Joyce used "Araby" to express his opinion of
the Catholic Church. Joyce's feelings about the church could not be
shared openly at the time. However, like many modernist writers,
Joyce wrote about his feelings in a symbolic fashion, and thereby used
his writing to speak out. The opening paragraph of the story gave the
first demonstration: "...it was a quiet street except at the hour
when the Christian Brothers' School set the boys free," which
indicated that their religion had somehow imprisoned them. A
charitable priest was the former tenant of the boy's house and had
died there. He left his furniture to his sister and his money to
institutions. This can be interpreted as a symbolic reference to the
fall of Roman Catholicism. The house represented the country of
Ireland and the priest represented religion. It was also notable that
the priest died with a lot of money, which was a contradictory
situation. How would a priest die with so much money? This was a
possible stab at the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the church.
Religion, as a whole came up symbolically many times throughout the
story.

The modernist movement brought about many changes in literature. It
provides an example of the fact that literature indicates what an
author's beliefs are and what is going on in his life. Authors were
affected by global events such as World War I, which was
understandably reflected in their work. Life was changing and people
were unsure of how to react. People were not as free to express
themselves, so authors chose to use their writing for self expression.
Joyce's use of the stream of consciousness allowed him to bring the
reader in and experience the story first hand. Joyce expressed his
views of the Catholic Church through the use of symbolism, which
allowed him to voice his opinion against the powerful church in a less
confrontational manner.