In James Joyce's short story, "Araby," what are the narrator's motives in the story?

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"" is a coming of age story. The narrator is a young man with an enormous crush on his
friend's sister. She is older, but he worships her from a distance, obsessed with everything
about her. The story shares the narrator's journey from idealizationseeing himself almost as her
championto confronting the reality of his age, his behavior, and how the world works.

The author's motives are to make an impression on Mangan's sister. He wants to be
noticed by herto feed his desire to see himself in a positive light; her attention could make
him feel like something special.

Some themes in the story are easy to
understand regarding this young man's journey. They include change and transformation; and God
and religion. The love he imagines for her changes him; and his realizations about the
"real" world, transform him yet againthis is his emotional growth. At the same time,
the narrator believes his love has a religious component to it as well:

The narrator of this...