John Updike's "A&P" and James Joyce's "Araby" are very alike. The theme of the two stories centers on a young men who are concerned over thinking out the dissimilarity between reality and the imaginations of romance that dance in their heads. They also examine their mistaken thoughts on their respective world, the girls they encounter, and most importantly, themselves. One of the main comparable aspects of the two stories is the built up of the main characters' idealistic expectations of women. Both characters set their sights on one girl which they place all their fondness in. Both Sammy and the boy were rebuffed in the end. Both stories do a good job of immersing the reader into unstable minds of young men faced with difficult life lessons. In their instance being, life is not what one expects.

Continuing the comparison in both "Araby" and "A&P," the stories are written in...
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