The theme of Araby is confusion on the boys part because he doesn't know what he wants. The appearance in the story is portrayed as dark and gloomy and is set in Dublin around the 1900's.
The boys interest are mainly in mangans sister who is obviously some what older than he. He seems to be obsessed with watching her physical attractions (her white neck, her soft hair, the movement of the brown-clad figure). The boy believes he is in love when actually his actions show more of an obsession than anything else. Every morning he would lay on the floor with the blinds open just enough so that he could watch her come out of the door and not be seen.
The boy was to afraid to approach the girl and tell her how he felt. He never knew weather or not he would ever speak to her and if he did speak to her he didn't know how to tell her how much he adored her. Then at last she finally talked to him. She asked if he was going to the bazaar. He was so stunned that the girl he has been obsessing over actually talked to him that he cant remember what he said. He wasn't even paying attention to the conversation because he was to busy noticing that's the light from the lamp caught the white curve in her neck.
The boy shows that's he really doesn't know anything about love when he goes to the bizarre. When he goes to one of the stalls he talks to an English sale lady. By the way he acts shows that he likes the lady and is intrigued by her. By this happening it shows how quickly his mind was taken of mangans sister. The boy is young and doesn't really understand the meaning of love.
