As Communicative Language Teaching method focuses predominantly on skills of the surface level, Critical literacy through literature has been recognized as an alternative teaching method for critical thinking. It respects various perspectives including marginalized characters in the text, multiple interpretations of readers and the social context. James Joyce`s work provides suitable content for critical literacy as ambiguous metaphors, symbols and narratives are applied throughout his work. Moreover, Joyce, as an Irish writer, reflects the powerless` point of view of Ireland under the British colonization. Among many works of his, “Araby”, which is moderately short but contains many puzzles, is appropriate for young adult students. Teachers should follow a certain process for critical literacy. The first step is to understand the text itself. When approaching “Araby” at the text level, we can focus on the boy`s first love for Mangan`s sister. After that, as teachers provide the background information about Ireland and Britain, students can read the text again and analyze critically within the social context. Through these steps, we can recognize that James Joyce challenges the conventional idea of first love and reflects the Irish social aspects in his work. The role of teachers is to find the ambiguous elements in the text which can stimulate students` active discussion and critical thinking.