Based on the short story by Irish author James Joyce, Araby is the bittersweet tale of a young boy's confused affection for his friend's older sister.

In fact, Tarsicius is not even named in the story when the narrator records: “I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes."

Another significant change from the story in the handling of the Caroline Norton poem ‘‘The Arab's Farewell to His Steed.’’ Joyce merely alludes to the poem, but in the film, the uncle in voice-over recites lines from it, which indisputably link the verses with the young man as he races down Buckingham Street to the special train at Westland Row Station that will take him to Araby.

[5] The Irish Edition wrote, "The film subtly reveals the deep feelings that weave their way through the boy's consciousness, from his romantic preoccupation with the girl, the initial hope and anticipation of receipt of the money from his uncle so he can buy a gift and on through to the ultimate failure of his efforts.

[6] “The filmmakers tell the story in a cinematic language that is brisk and impressionistic - like the experiences of a child - but pensive and mature at the same time.”[7] “The film ultimately helps us to get at what Joyce critic Donald Torchiana calls the "mythic, religious and legendary patterns that Joyce seems to place so frequently at the very center of each story".”[8]