World War I and World War II are basically the same thing, right? If so, even Araby, written around the First World War by James Joyce, and The Flash, written around the Second World War by Italo Calvino, are the same thing, right? Indeed, these tales have many similarities. At the same time, both stories have many differences. Therefore, it is difficult to compare both stories when considering all the details. If the object of the comparison is more specific, such as an epiphany, then it is possible to put more emphasis and effort into the comparison. In Arabia the protagonist falls in love with a girl, but love deceives him. In his moment of epiphany, “[looking] into the darkness [he] saw [himself] as a creature driven and mocked by vanity; and [his] eyes burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce 1). In The Flash, the protagonist suddenly grasps a reality, but only for an instant: “[He] stopped, blinked: [He] understood nothing. Nothing, nothing at all. [He] didn't understand the reasons for things and people, it was all senseless, absurd. And [he began] to laugh” (Calvin 1). Comparing the epiphanies of both tales reveals the relationship between similarities and differences regarding theme, symbolism, and setting. Most importantly, comparing the themes of both epiphanies reveals that they can be simultaneously similar and different. An important common theme in both epiphanies is the confrontation with reality. In Araby, the protagonist realizes that “[his] stay was useless” (Joyce 6) since the young woman “only spoke to him out of a sense of duty” (Joyce 6). Similarly, in The Flash, the protagonist realizes that he "accepts everything: traffic lights, cars, posters, uniforms, monuments, things completely detached from any sense of the world, accepting them as if there were some necessity, some chain of cause and effect that bound them together" (Calvin 1). Both characters deal with the reality and randomness of the world. Even so, each epiphany means each protagonist faces a different kind of reality. The protagonist of Araby faces the reality of love and “[sees himself] as a creature driven by and derived from vanity” (Joyce 6). On the other hand, the protagonist of The Flash is confronted with the reality of existence and hopes to “[grasp] that other knowledge” (Calvino 2). Therefore, reviewing the similar theme of both epiphanies also leads to discovering different themes. Conversely, observing the differences in the symbolism of each epiphany suggests a comparable aspect of the symbolism..