James Joyce Report

7/30/2019 James Joyce Report

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James Joyce Report Dubliners

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BATA, Kristine Joy 3 May 2012BAYANI, Diana Beatriz LIT188British LiteratureCHUA, Adelle Under Danton Remoto

DALAGAN, Judith

DONES, Antonio Miguel

LICUP, KimberleySIOSON, Minette

TUBALLA, TereseUY, Marianne

THE AUTHOR

Biography of James Joyce

James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was born on February 2, 1882 in Brighton Square

Dublin. He was the eldest child of ten children. His parents were John Stanislaus Joyce andMarry Jane Murray. The father had a secured job in the office of the collection of taxes and was

able to provide for a comfortable life for the family. While the mother was 10 years younger than

her husband and was strongly Catholic in her religious beliefs.When Joyce was 6 years old his tutelage under the Jesuits began in Clongowes Wood

College and then at Belvedere College. Then in 1898 he enrolled at the University College.

During the years in the University he became fascinated with the Drama of Ibsen. He alsolearned Norwegian in order to write a letter to him. And in 1900 his review of Henrik Ibsens

New drama was published in the Fortnightly Review. Ibsen even sent him a letter of appreciation

for the said review of his play.

He graduated in 1902 and decided to go to Paris in order to study medicine. But he wentback to Dublin when he received news that his mother was dying from cancer. Not long after her

death Joyce met Nora Barnacle in 1904. Their relationship developed until they married in 1931

and they had two children, Giorgio and Lucia.In March 1923 he started working on a novel that would become his last work. Extracts

of the work appeared as A Work in Progress but the final version that was published in 1939

became Finnegans Wake.

After the fall of France in WWII, Joyce returned to Zurich, where he was taken ill. Hewas diagnosed of having a perforated duodenal ulcer. Then on January 13, 1941 he died after the

operation. Joyce was buried in Zurich at Fluntern cemetery.

List of WorksDubliners is a collection of short stories written in 1904-1907 and published in 1914. The

stories incorporate epiphanies which he meant a sudden consciousness of the "soul". This soul he

is pertaining to is the split moment wherein the essential nature of a person, object or moment isperceived all at once. The first 3 stories in the collection are narrated in the first person with a

child protagonists and as the stories continue they are told by a third person whose tone and

sensibility deal with the lives and concerns of progressively older people. This is in line withJoyce's tripartite division of the collection into childhood, adolescence, and maturity, however,

let us not trivialize this structure. Dubliners is not merely a group of short stories structured in

sequence to human development. James intended the novel to be read as a side by side


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comparison of a citys development, while its inhabitants (characters) grows from innocence toexperience.

Reoccuring themes include oppressive morality, routines, restless desires and the inability

to escape from their environment. On a more specific scale, these are detected in his works as

alienation or loneliness, religious oppression, change and transformation. Most of his characters

are on the brink of a realization about themselves known as an epiphany. He focused on Dublinas a representative city because to him, it was the centre of paralysis. My goal was to write a

chapter of the moral history of my country, Joyce says after finishing Dubliners.His other works include the following:

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is an autobiographical novel that was published

serially in the Egoist in 1914-1915 and in book form in 1916. The novel portrays the coming ofage of Stephan Dedalus from childhood to adolescence and his growth to artistic self-

consciousness.

Exiles the only play that Joyce published in 1918.

Ulysses was first published in book form in 1922 by Sylvia beach. The novel continuesthe life of Stephen Dedalus where his story from the Portrait of Artist as a Young Man leaves

off. The novel introduces two main characters and takes place on a single day in Dublin.Finnegans Wake was his last novel. Extracts of the work appeared as A Work in Progress

from 1928-1937 but the final version that was published in 1939 became Finnegans Wake. It is anovel written using the dream form as a device to tell the universal story of Everyman,

HumpreyChimpdenEarwicker, his wife Anna LiviaPlurabelle and their children, twins Shem and

Shaun and sister Isabel.

Writing Style

James adopts an attitude of scrupulous meanness towards his characters. In order to

accomplish this, Joyce balances sympathy and objectivity. This balance exhibits both factual andsympathetic understanding of his characters. Evidence of this style points to his subtle comment,

careful crafting of tone and images and demonstration of conflict in the intentions and actions ofthe characters.

He frequently uses heavy symbolisms, representations and the repetition thereof.

Historical and Cultural ContextThroughout the duration of the writing the book, Ireland which was dominantly Catholic

was ruled by British monarchy which was mostly Protestant. The British perceived the Irish as

an uneducated, superstitious and poor nation. This being said, Irish Nationalism and

independence movements attempted to counter British exploitation. Ireland was also in a state ofcivil dispute during that time. The nation was divided into 2 according to political beliefs:

Unionists versus Nationalists. The Nationalists are mostly Catholic who favored a united Ireland

entirely independent of Britain. They were interested in preserving and renewing Irish languageand culture. On the other hand, Unionists were postly pProtestand. They favored maintaining tiesbetween Ireland and Britain, and valued the culture that they provided despite the oppression.

Joyce was definitely a Nationalist. He believed that the Irish were unable to free

themselves from the social and cultural repression that came from the Catholic Church. TheDublin that he was situated in was composed mostly of lower to middle-class citizens oppressed

by Financial problems, foreign political dominance (Britain) and the Irish Catholic Church. The


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context of his time reflect the central themes of Dubliners such as personal freedom and later on,paralysis, which we will discuss later on.

An iconic figure during the late 1880s was Charles Stewart Parnell who was an advocate

of Irish home rule. (Nationalist)He gained political strength however, in 1889, a scandal

destroyed his reputation and his opponents discredited and weakened him. In relation to James

Joyce, the turn of the century Dublin, Ireland, as portrayed by Joyce is still haunted by Parnellsghost and the promise of Irish Independence that died with him. (Thus, a glimpse of the

paralysis concept)Additionally, the Irish Catholic Church was a powerful force in the lives of most Irish

citizens, but Joyce rebelled against its power through writing. He believed that the Church did

too little to free Ireland from British role and poverty, and did too much to impose citizenssubservience.

THE STORIES

THE SISTERS

Literal Meaning:

The Sisters talks about a certain boy and his close relatives. They are saddened, shocked

and numbed by the death of a well-priest of their community in Great Britain. The death of the

priest has the greatest impact on the boy, as the boy saw the priest as his teacher, mentor,

confidant, and friend. In simpler terms, The Sisters is about the experience of losing someoneimportant through the eyes of a child.

Figurative Meaning:

The Sisters is composed of two main characters namely, the unnamed boy and Father

James Flynn. There are also minor characters such as Old Cotter, the boys aunt and uncle,

Nannie, and Eliza. They deepen other elements of the story like the plot and setting.

First, the unnamed boy will be discussed. He is portrayed as a young child, probablyseven to ten years of age. Proof of this is the minor characters referring to him as a child or boy.

(They say it was the boys fault atpage 10) (The youngster and he were great friends. at page

2). Despite this portrayal, the child thinks of himself as more mature than he really is, saying thathe was angry for Old Cotter for alluding to me as a child (at page 3). This view of the boy, that

he is more mature then he really is, may be attributed to Father Flynns teaching him of fields of

study (such as Latin and Catechism) that he couldnt fully grasp due to his tender age. This ideaof not being able to grasp or understand can also be seen in the way that the boy sees Father

Flynns actions. Although he doesnt understand why Father Flynn does some of the strange

things that he does, the boy does not doubt, fear or question him as they have grown much

attached to each other. This can be seen in the part where the boy tells of Father Flynns habit ofuncovering his big discoloured teeth and letting his tongue lie upon his lower lip when he smiles.

The boy goes on to tell the readers that Father Flynn had very strange habits that made

him feel uneasy before I knew him too well. This shows how close the relationship between

the boy and Father Flynn had become over time. Perhaps, too close.All these give an image of a boy who thinks that he is mature enough to face lifes

realities but in truth, is too young and nave to grasp and understand lifes truths.


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One strange thing is that the boy, in his dream, refers to Father Flynn using the pronounit rather than he. Also, in the first part of the story, while referring to paralysis, the boysays that it sounded to me like the name of some maleficent and sinful being. It filled me with

fear, and yet I longed to be nearer to it and to look upon its deadly work ( at page 1). Could this

maleficent and sinful being be Father Flynn himself because he desecrated priesthood by his

actions? Could the boy be filled with fear because of what Father Flynn is doing to him, yet helonged to be with him as he is able to learn many things from him and that they have grown very

close to each other?Second, Father Flynn shall be discussed. Father Flynn is portrayed as a disappointed man.

This can be seen in Elizaswords,the duties of priesthood were too much for him. And then his

life was, you might say, crossed. (at page 9). What was this about priesthood, his life, whichmade him so disappointed? This is probably because of him having to repress his feelings for the

boy because of him being a priest. Father Flynn was also described as acting strangely around

the boy. He had a really strange smile whenever the boy was around. Also, his hands trembled so

much at the sight of the boy; as was seen when the boy was thinking of the times when he had topour wine for Father Flynn for his hands trembled too much to allow him to do this without

spilling half of the snuff about the floor (atpage 4). Father Flynns discoloured garments add tohis image of being unclean and, even if he tried to clean his garments, he would fail over and

over again in doing so. This symbolizes his trying and failing to clean himself.Father Flynn is also illustrated as teaching the boy things that are too complex for his

young mind. This shows the priests sadistic nature, probably due to the repression that he had to

endure.In the story, it is told that the breakage of the chalice changed Father Flynn. He began to

mope by himself, talking to no one and wandering about by himself (at page 10). The breaking

of the chalice is a symbolism of the act of taking someones virginity as the chalice symbolizes

purity. Ergo, the breaking of the chalice could be seen either literally or figuratively. Literally,the chalice was shattered and they say it was the boys fault ( at page 10). Maybe Father Flynn

was startled by the boys presence that he became uneasy and dropped the chalice to the floor.Figuratively, it could mean that Father Flynn took the boys virginity. Because of this evil action,something has gone wrong with him (atpage 10). Even if Father Flynn was the Lords servant,

he was still unclean, and he desecrated his position by having sexual relations with the boy,

which in itself, according to the rules of priesthood, is wrong. Add to that the repression that heexperienced every time he was with the boy. He couldnt express his repressed feelings freely, as

he was a priest, and society expected him to be clean; hence his strange actions and habits

towards the boy are his ways of expressing these repressed feelings and emotions.

The minor characters further deepen the mystery that shrouded Father Flynn. Old Cotterthinks that it is bad for children (atpage 2), the idea of getting too close to a priest. The boys

uncle also shared the same opinion with Old Cotter. What made them think of being friends with

a priest such as Father Flynn as bad for children? Do they know something that made them thinkthis way?

The Sisters is told in the perspective of the unnamed boy. Perhaps the boy represents all

children, who are too innocent and nave to understand life, or to distinguish between right and

wrong, as in the case of the unnamed boy who never thought of Father Flynns actions towardshim as wrong or not moral, as the two were very close. For children, friendship sometimes

becomes the basis of choosing between right and wrong, and this holds true for the unnamed

boy. It is also said that the boy could be James Joyce himself, as most of his works are indirectly


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autobiographical in nature. And, James Joyce too was taught by priests (Jesuits) in his youngage.

The title The Sisters is somewhat peculiar, as the story discusses the perceived

brotherhood between Father Flynn and the unnamed boy. Sigmund Freud tells that women are

beings of emotion, that they are guided by their emotion in their everyday actions and not by

reason. Father Flynn is shown as guided by his emotions with respect to his actions towards theboy. He indirectly shows this, but he is indeed guided by his sexual attraction to the boy. The

unnamed boy, being trained and taught by Father Flynn for a long time, was starting to showsigns of being like him too, that his emotions decided his actions. This was seen when he didnt

move away from Father Flynn despite his strange actions towards him. He actions were guided

by his emotions, and their close relationship with each other, and not by reason. The title The

Sisters is probably due to the sisterly relationship between Father Flynn and the unnamed boy.

Overall, The Sisterscould be used to analyze societys established social norms. In the

story, it can be seen that the Catholic Church, symbolized by Father Flynn, is not as good as

what people think them to be. Also, it is shown that Father Flynn hinders the proper growth ofthe unnamed boy. This can be an analogy for the Catholic Church, or some of its members,

hindering the proper growth of the young and new society, symbolized by the young boy who isyet to form his own identity (hence he is unnamed).

ARABY

The story of Araby is a short story written by James Joyce as a part of his book,Dubliners. The tale itself reflects a structured, but very realistic narration that suggests a slice-of-

life sort of scenario for the characters. The language used by Joyce in its creation is seems to be

neither flowery, nor blunt but rather, chosen specifically to deliver his intended story and the

underlying themes. In effect, the manner by which the story is told is a reflection of the era andthe society that influenced the writer; the lingering pragmatism resulting from the Industrial

Revolution, the quickening shift to realist and secular belief systems.In the literal sense, the story appears to be linear. The protagonist is a boy, neither a child

anymore nor quite yet an adult, narrating a portion of his life, the sensory experience of the

streets he was growing up in. He spoke of day to day occurrences, and of attraction, the stirrings

of a boy that isnt quite yet a man, towards someone in his community. The storyline isundeviating, jumping from one point of time in the boys life to the next, detailing his nearly -

missed adventure to the titular Araby which is something of a fair, and his disappointment upon

seeing it mostly closed.

Close reading, however, will reveal a far deeper interpretation to the little details in thestory. The narrator and protagonist mentioned the death of the priest. Little details such as the

passing mention of his death, and the brief mentions of room in which he died, play a small role

in the story. Which, in retrospect, may be likened to the idea of God is Dead by FriedrichNietzsche (Holub, 24-28) with the priest being representative of the Christian faith. This isfurther expounded upon by the presence of the Araby fair, which seemed to be more of a

travelling, gypsy affair than something sanctioned by the church. In Ireland, the authors home

country and the setting of the story, the primary religion is Christianity and for years, the churchhas been protective of its dominion, and many fairs were likely seen as superfluous and base

(Heal, 134-177). The aunts objection to the fair being a Freemason affair only seems to round

the point out.


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The next point visible in the story is the fascination of the young with the fair, Araby.The name itself evokes a sense of mystical feel, a sort of eastern flair. The protagonistsdescription of his visualized version of the affair is colored with a bias towards Orientalism, the

fascination towards that which is not inherently Western. Orientalism, or the excessive

romanticism of the image of the East when interpreted or imagined by Westerners. (Turner, 36-

39) Because of the proximity of Ireland to its sister-country, Great Britain, the consequentimperialist endeavors carry weight in its society as well. The colonization of India, the jewel of

the British Crown as it was called, the English Empires then-recent victories against the Chinesein the Opium Wars, as well as its myriad of conquered Southeast Asian territories seemed to

propagate the ordinary citizens fantasies of the exotic and far-off lands. (Wynne, 82-88)

Another aspect of the story that seemed to be of importance is the use of a child as aprotagonist. Symbolically, children in stories often represent a facet of humanity that is innocent

and yet untainted, nave and embodying a blissful sort of ignorance to the worlds darker sides

and secrets. They know only that which those around them show, and learn clumsily through

hesitant, singular steps.The protagonist in this story, however, is not just a child, but a young man on the cusp of

adolescence. Neither a boy, nor a man, hes stuck in a world that it betwixt. This may also bereflective of the environment of the late nineteenth century in Ireland, where their beautiful lakes

and countryside contrasted heavily with the existence of the crowded, dirty cities that housed theindustrial districts.

The main point of the child protagonist, however, rests in his growing infatuation with

another character, in the personage of Mangans Sister. Where children often interact each otherbecause of play, study, or work, the protagonist seemed to pay extremely close attention to the

girl, particularly in manners such as the soft rope of hair tossed from side to side. Such careful

detailing of what could have been a casual pass marks the symbolic meaning of the scenario. A

child that is about to transition into adulthood, passing the stages of naivety to those of a properman loses much of his purity and his innocence.(Billig, 15-33) As far as societal implications

go, the repression of emotions popular during that particular era. (Freud, 79-81)The fact that theboys attempts at impressing the girl were relatively subtle and meant to be quite secretive, andthat his whispers and pining was done in solitude, reflected this fact. His disappointment at the

very end, after having had his illusions of the majesty of the fair, as well as some of his earlier

impressions of the girl of his dreams, left him with a shattering expectation of sorts.

EVELINE

Evelineis about a young woman, Eveline Hill, who contemplates leaving her desolate lifeand running off with a sailor, but who changes her mind at the last minute.

The story is told in the third person but the narrator is omniscient: it knows exactly what is going

on in the mind of Eveline. There are two distinct parts of the story. First, Eveline surveys herpresent life, compares it with the past and ponders her future. Second, and this is more narrativein nature, Eveline is at the port with Frank, and in the end decides not to go with him to Buenos

Ayres after all.

From her reflections we gather several details about Eveline. The house where she isliving in is the same house she grew up in. She had a normal childhood she had friends,

playmates, and her mother provided love and nurturing in the family even as her father was

already beginning to show signs of violence.


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We also gather that Eveline has assumed domestic responsibilities after the death of hermother. She cleans the house. She is in charge of her two younger siblings, feeding them andgetting them ready for school. She works in a store and turns over all her earnings to her father at

the end of the week. She goes shopping for food. Of her two brothers, one has died and one is in

the business of decorating churches and does not live at home anymore. She is not treated well

by her father, whom she fearshence her palpitations -- and she is also not treated well by hersuperior at the store, Miss Gavan, who always finds fault in her.

Eveline made a promise to her dying mother that she would keep the home together for as longas she could. Now that she has met Frank, who wanted to take her to a faraway land where he

had a home waiting for the two of them, she flirted with the idea of leaving behind her familiar

yet unsatisfactory life. She is about to leave and in fact has a letter to her brother and her father.

Several images help set the mood of the story:

Evening invading the avenue. The sun has just set and night is coming. This shows thatEveline is unhappy even as she is supposed to be embarking on the greatest getaway of her life.

Dust.Eveline leans against the window and her nostrils are filled with the odor of dusty cretonne(cloth for curtains or upholstery). She also notices that while she dusts the objects in the houseonce a week, they get dusty again. Dust may be taken to refer to the passage of time, a sense of

wasting away doing nothing, accomplishing nothing.

The nameless priest whose yellowing photograph hangs on the wall.Religion is supposed toplay a big part in the young womans life. It binds her to her roots and to the promise that she

made her mother. It is a constant reminder of her responsibilities to her family. It is anonymous

and yellowing, however, because religion is losing its hold on her. This is her epiphany. Sheknows she deserves better treatment, a better life. She says it so herself: She had a right to

happiness. (p.33)

The boat making a long and mournful whistle.The whistle of the boat is the call for change. Itshould be the sign that beckons to her to leave her old life and embrace the new. But to Eveline,

the whistle is mournfulit means painful separation from her life, which while not ideal, is theonly life she has known.

Evelines face as she says goodbye to Frank: whitepassive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes

gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition. EVeline does not see Frank for the personthat he is, only a ticket to the new life she thinks she wants.

Themes:Eveline may be read through several lenses:Feminist approach.Her character could be seen as promising in the beginning because of herself-awareness. She knew where she was, and she knew she wanted more. She did not want to

live and die as her mother did.Feminists would not doubt be disappointed in Eveline for chickening out.. But Dubliners was

published in 1914, at a time when feminism had not yet gained much ground in literature.

Women were still portrayed as ideal wives and daughters, as Eveline was.


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Then again, even if she had come to Buenos Ayres with Frank, that would have made him hersavior, her hero, toostill not very flattering from a feminist point of view. Another way then ofseeing it was that Eveline was in fact brave not to allow a man to rescue her.

Religious approach. James Joyces religious background was evident in the story. There wasthat yellowing photograph of the priest. The printed promises to Blessed Margaret MaryAlacoque (who has since been canonized. Margaret Mary is to whom Jesus supposedly made

promises on how to honor his Sacred Heart). When Eveline was at the port with Frank, she wasstill praying to God for guidance, and show her what her duty was.

Responsibility to the family. Eveline has a strong sense of responsibility to her family as all girlsin those times were, and especially since her mother has died. Thus, staying or leaving became a

dilemma for Eveline.Male dominance. Irishmen were dominant, foul mouthed husbands and fathers. Their wives andchildren had to defer to them even when they were being abusive or violent.

The anxiety brought by change. Even though it is for the better, change always brings anxiety.

Sometimes the anxiety is so great that people choose to remain in their comfort zones instead ofembracing it.

IVY DAY IN THE COMMITTEE ROOM

Point of ViewThe story is told by a third person point of view whose tone and sensibility deal with the

lives and concerns of progressively older people. The subject of the story is about politics in

Ireland in the early 20th

century.

TitleThe title is called ivy day because it commemorates the death anniversary of Charles

Parnell. Charles Stewart Parnell was born on June 27, 1846 in Avondale County Wicklow. Hewas an Irish Nationalist, land reform agitator, leader and founder of the Irish Parliamentary Partyand for some the Uncrowned King of Ireland. From 1875-1891 he was a member of the British

Parliament. His greatest contribution for Irish politics would be when he led the fight for the

Irish Home Rule. The purpose of the said movement was to repeal the Acts of Union of 1800,merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain into the United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Ireland, so as to liberate Ireland from the United Kingdom. But his leadership

was questioned when he was named in the divorce papers between Captain OShea and his wife,

Katherine. Apparently he was having an affair with Katherine OShea. The scandal eventuallyled to the to the split of the Irish Parliamentary Party and he was replaced as leader. However the

said issue did not stop him from traveling through the country giving speeches about the Irish

issues. But due to exhaustion he died in October 6, 1891. During his funeral the Dubliners worethe ivy growing by his grave in their lapels that became his symbol.

Setting

The story was set on October 6 in the early 20th

century in the Committee Room inWicklow Street. The Committee Room was Tierneys campaign headquarters. The Committee

Room was described as denuded. There was a small table in the middle of the room where papers

were heaped and the chairs where placed near the fireplace. The walls were bare except for a


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copy of an election address. The only source of light was the fire and the candlesticks. Outside itwas dark, dismal and cold. The atmosphere of the place was gloomy and dark.

In relation to Parnell it was their Nationalist Party headquarters. During his time it had a

very positive atmosphere because of the relentless fight for independence. But the gloomy and

dark atmosphere of the committee room in the story more or less described the feeling of the

other committee room in London where Parnell was betrayed by his closest allies when they hadunseated him as leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party.

Ivy Day in the Committee Room is a short story that does not follow the standard

narrative structure. There is no rising action, climax and denouement. Instead, it presents an

epiphany that reveals the true character of the individuals in the story.The characters in the story frequently refer to three significant persons: Richard J.

Tierney, Mr. Colgan and King Edward VII. Tierney and Colgan were running against each other

in the Municipal Elections in Dublin. King Edward VII was a British monarch who was going to

visit Ireland. Most of the characters were working for Tierney as canvassers in his electioncampaign.

The canvassers for Tierney were Mat O'Connor, Joe Hynes, John Henchy, Mr. Croftonand Mr. Lyons. Through the conversations between these characters, the story shows how these

canvassers were convincing others to vote for Tierney while they themselves thought of him as atrickster who would bend to foreign rule. It also shows how these characters judge one another.

Joe Hynes is suspected of being a spy for the working-manColgan. Mr. Crofton is criticized for

saying nothing while canvassing for votes. This same man; however, thought his companions tobe beneath him. In fact, it is revealed that he is not really a supporter of Tierney but worked for

the latter only because his candidate did not run.

Internal conflict is presented in the narration. The characters spend their time

continuously trying to determine which between independence and capitalism is more valuable.The characters develop as they show loyalty to their employer but betray him as they question

whether he is the ideal politician. The latter question seems to be resolved as the canvassersspeak of how Tierney is able to keep his promises because they receive the beer promised by thelatter. However, at the end of the story, they come to realize that what truly matters is that they

become one Ireland. Hynes recites his poem about Charles Parnell, described as a gentleman

who instilled order and fought for the independence of the Irish. At this, the characters finallyagree on one thing: that Parnell was a hero lost by their people.

The story revolves around the theme of loyalty and betrayal. It begins by questioning the

loyalty of the characters to Tierney and ends by questioning the loyalty of the characters to the

country. It shows that while the Irish sought freedom, they lacked the conviction to fight for it. Itshows that while they do not believe in the propositions of their leaders to bend to foreign rule,

they remain to be satisfied by the shallow promise of maintaining the status quo. This is

consistent with what James Joyce wrote in one his letters - that this is one of the stories which"betray the soul of that hemiplegia or paralysis which many consider a city" (referring toDublin).

THE DEAD

Literal Meaning


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The Dead talks, basically, about the party that the sisters Morkans and their niece, MaryJane hold every year around Christmas. As always, the party has been a success, where most oftheir family and friends arrive, dance the night away and mingle. As the story progresses, we see

a handful of characters who share a chat with each other. There are lots of dancing, lots of music

and the food was rich and plentiful and we can honestly derive from the story that the guests do

go home rather contented.

Figurative Meaning

As stated, the literal level of the story may only look as though its talking about the

party, however, that may not be entirely true. If one were to delve deeper into the story, we see

that the story doesnt really speak of the fun life of parties and merriment that is celebrated withthe occasion. After all, the story was entitled The Dead, thus giving feeling of anxiety, and fear

completely contradicting the supposed mood of the party. After much thought, the group came to

the conclusion that the following themes are the things the author wishes to convey in the text.

Theme 1: Patriarchy and Travel

During the early 20th century, women were still considered to be inferior among men.

They are seen as objects that men display on their arms for the world to see. In the short story,one can see how patriarchy is moulded into the story, though not in the conventional manner, but

rather in a ironic, twisted manner.

Patriarchy is defined to be the control by men of a disproportionately large share of

power. Patriarchy can be seen repeatedly within the story, but it may not be as simple as mere

domination of manhood, its ironically twisted. At the start of the story, we see Gabriel trying tomake small talk with Lily, the one who welcomes visitors and takes their coats, about her love

life, at which he was replied that men only want one thing and they use their charms to get it

with great bitterness. As a man, also as an educated person who works in a universitythis

implies that he is knowledgeable, he couldve easily defended himself and say that men werentall as she makes them out to be. Instead, he turns coward and to appease Lily he gives her a

coin as a Christmas gift and hurriedly left the uncomfortable conversation.

Another episode we see in the story that somehow show how Gabriel sees himself as the

one in authority is his demand that Gretta wear goloshes in her boots in concern of her health.Goloshes, in the story, was said to have come from the ContinentEastwhere Gabriel usually

travel to. In a lot of ways, it is implied that the women do not travel anywhere outside Ireland

and yet they are quite aware that galoshes was somewhat of a current fad in the East, thus

showing that they are rather knowledgeable. This, in turn, contradicts Gabriels view of himselfas a learned person, who have travelled to the East. Joyce said once that:Travel is adventure in

the lands to the East, and travel is the pursuit of power. And yet, in the story, the womenwhove never travelled outside of Ireland, much less to the east were knowledgeable in their own

way.

Another episode that contradicts the theme of patriarchy is Miss Ivory, who is a colleagueand a fellow teacher at the university. Miss Ivory insulted Gabriel to be a West Briton (a

derogatory term for someone who is fond of the English culture and tradition; usually applied to

Protestant Dubliners with loose moral issues) for writing a review of Robert Brownings poem in


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a Unionist newspaper. After which, she invited him over vacation to go to Aran Isles. Aran Islesit seems is the heartland in which the essence of Irishness had been preserved. At this, hevehemently said that he was sick of Ireland. Later on, we find rather paradoxical the insistence

and excitement of Gretta to go back to the West, back to her hometown in Galway. This is

already two women who want him to go back to the West. We now see the contradictions

between the East and the West, and between Gabriel and the two women. East for Gabriel ismoving forward, and leaving the past. After all, Travel is only meaningful when it is moving

eastward, towards the realms of power and sophistication. On the other hand, when one movesor travels westward is contradiction. It is considered regressive as opposed to being progressive,

and this movement goes back to the precivilized, the natural, the feminine, perhaps even

Freuds dark continent.

Theme 2: Tradition

Considering the historical context, it was evident that a re-occurring theme was tradition.

It was essential to Ireland that they maintain their sense of identity through their rituals andtraditions. The very events that occurred throughout the dinner party were traditional. The

characters themselves could not tolerate any changes to the event proper.

The very beginning of the novella emphasized the painstaking meticulous effort it took to

uphold the tradition. Never once had it fallen flat, it presumes. Their society looked at small

occasions of defiance with disdain, as seen in the scene describing Lily, the caretakers daughter:But the only thing they [Aunt Julia and Aunt Kate] would not stand was back answers. The

characters strictly adhered to the sequence of past vents, the very fact that Freddy Malins, a

difficult drunkard to handle under the influence of alcohol, was invited despite the fact that he isa potential threat to the order of the party says a lot about the rigidity of tradition. Even factors

which contribute potential discourse are present just to preserve the aspects of the Irish tradition.

During the dinner itself, Freddy threw his opinion about negro chieftains in the air andeverybody did not know how to react. He dubbed the negro chieftain he has heard as one of the

finest tenor voices I have ever heard. D Arcy politely tried to veer away the attention from himby avoiding Freddys questions about the negro chieftain. Is it because hes only a black? He

asks. The racial discomfort emanated throughout the room and nobody answered this question.

The use of the word only has many implications. The manner in which Freddy phrased hissentence presupposes that he knew how the Irish participants would most likely react to a

colored fellow among them.

During the same discussion, there was much praise for the grand old operas, theDinorrah

and the Lucrezia Borgia and how it was pointless to bring back the level of greatness they would

exude because old talents were gone. Why did they never play the grand old operas

now?...Because they could not get the voices to sing them, thats why. The essence of traditionpersisted so much so that the tradition of having major operas would not be continued unless the

original opera singers would sing themselves.

The epitome of a sign for tradition existed in the proceeding of his speech, where

situational irony prevailed. The whole speech was in contrary of what was happening aroundhim. He spoke of the Irish qualities of humanity, hospitality and kindly humor which belonged

to an older day that he was quite clearly not receiving. Lily the caretaker, who was supposed to


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show, of all people, a sense of hospitality, failed to do so by indirectly calling him a man ofpalaver, which thoroughly insulted him. Another occasion that can prove the irony is the scenewith Mrs. Ivors, who greatly lacked in a display of kindly humor. She threw around the term

West Briton as if it were a delightful joke. Moreover, he spoke of the dead in such a noble

way: still cherish in our hearts the memory of those dead and gone great ones whose fame the

world will not willingly die. Not knowing later on that his competition to get his wife to sleepwith him is one of the dead whose memory still lingers. It is situational irony primarily because

his speech completely contradicts the events happening to him. This, therefore, is a depiction of aslow breakdown of a strong sense of tradition and ritualism. The novella is slowly bringing to

light the fact that the deconstruction of Irelands values, principles and rituals are slowly taking

place. Gabriel tries several times to unify the party and glorify its events, making him a symbolfor the glue that keeps the sense of tradition together. He is the one presiding over the toasts,

dividing the goose, keeps Freddy Mallins in line and reciting the speech. It is the same rationale

why he is at the center of novella, and the events that transpire around him are highly symbolic

of the state of Ireland.

Who is The Dead the Joyce is referring to?

After careful consideration of the novellas historical and cultural context, plus the

pursuit of underlying meanings through the lens of 2 themes, we are now prepared to answer this

question: Who is The Dead that Joyce refers to?

The group has decided that Gabriel might be a representation of Ireland in a state of

paralysis, a strong theme which we mentioned earlier. Our historical analysis tells us that

Ireland was caught smack in the middle of several disputes; they were a nation that could not

have disagreed on another subject topic if it wanted to. James Joyce was not impressed at all withthe state of Ireland. To him, any sense of improvement seemed like a distant and difficult feat.

The revolutionary conflict of interest of whether or not the British should remain on Irish soil

had much impact on the need for the Irish to revisit its traditions, rituals and values. Thus the

lens in which we perceived the story proved fairly apt.

Problems of all kinds attacked Ireland; Political, Economical, Religious and so on and so

forth. Ultimately, this is the indication of paralysis that Joyce wants to create. Paralysis defined,

is the inability to act or function in a person, organization or place. The paralysis of the state ofIreland was visible; issues of all kinds were firing at different directions during Joyces time and

not only did the country lack a sense of camaraderie, they also lacked a strong influential leader

to bind them; to head them in the right direction. Instead, they are paralyzed by their own

contradictory beliefs.

The grand metaphor presented in The Dead which heightened the cleverness andexpertise of Joyces work links the main character, Gabriel, and Ireland as a nation. They are

bound by one common denominator: A state of paralysis.

Figuratively, Gabriel is paralyzed by his social ineptitude, specifically with the ladies,

how repeatedly he filed to please each one despite his effort. Towards Lily and Mrs. Ivors, he

could not find a way to appease either women. He had this certain disconnection with the level ofeducation he had attained, and was hesitant to let people know how smart he actually was. The


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only times in the novella where he was not socially awkward were during traditional rites such asthe toast, the speech and the cutting of the goosecommunal activities done traditionally,wherein there is a relatively low chance of Gabriel committing social mishaps. His efforts are

consistently small and futile. Throughout the entire dinner proper, the author has established the

fact that Gabriel will tend to fail on social events if they are not ritualistic, or have not been done

before, thus freezing him in a state of paralysis. However, the clearest example by which wecan perceive this metaphor is when he was alone with Gretta. Despite their long standing

relationship and 2 children, Mr. DArcys song still manages to bring Gretta to tears due to thememory of Michael Furey, a former lover. The way Gretta seemed completely oblivious to the

carnal desires of Gabriel was the ultimate proof that Gabriel had no lasting impression on Gretta

at all; that even after years of marriage, he still has not compensated for her loss of a dead lover.He has failed to improve her state, and because he failed her, he failed himself as wellanother

sign of paralysis.

Meanwhile, Michael transcended time. It does not matter how did so, whether it was the

way he treated her in a special way or the things he taught her. The ability of the essence of a

person to resonate through time and grave is a powerful feat. One that Gabriel may never live upto. The reader must be certain that whatever it is that he did, it was certainly not a tradition

proceeding. To be commemorated after years on end, one must have changed something or

someone while they were still alive. Therefore the group concludes that it is Gabriel and his

ritualistic nature which classifies him as dead. Placing him side by side with Michael Furey, heis a meager excuse for someone who is truly living in his time. He lacks a sense of influence and

the ability to take command of his own life enough to truly deem him as a living person.

However, because of his state of paralysis caused by his escapist nature, he does not alive. At

last we can conclude that he, and the traditional people of the party were The Dead

This can be paralleled with the state of Ireland as James Joyce wrote it. His grand

metaphor being Gabriel as a representation of Ireland was so done in such a subtle manner that itcannot be helped that the story of The Dead is one of his famous works. Ireland, we have

mentioned, was in a state of paralysis and it was absolutely helpless on trying to solve it. It wasan escapist country in the sense that there was an existence of Unionists, whom Joyce was

strongly against. The unionists did nothing but accept the current state they were in and accept

events as history moved along. Here we can see the escapist nature of Gabriel manifesting. Theconflict between the Unionists and the Nationalists brought a similar sense of paralysis to the

country, and Joyce realized that sticking to ritualism and not reinforcing change made them stand

as they were. Ireland was a mere Gabriel Conrad during that time and was not taking action

enough to be considered a Michael Furey.


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REFERENCES

Billig, Michael.Freudian Repression: Conversation Creating the Unconscious. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1999.

Freud, Sigmund. On Sexuality.Penguin, 1991.

Heal, Felicity. Reformation in Britain and Ireland.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Holub, Robert C.Friedrich Nietzsche. New York: Ywayne Publishers, 1995.

Ingersoll, Earl G. Engendered Trope in Joyce's Dubliners. South Illinois: Southern Illinois

University, 1996.

James Joyce, Encyclopedia Britannica Online, April 28, 2012,http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/306875/James-Joyce .

James Joyce, Works, April 28, 2012,http://www.jamesjoyce.ie/listing.asp?id=14 .

Turner, Bryan. Orientalism, Postmodernism and Globalism. London: Routledge, 1999.

Wynne, Catherine. The Colonial Conan Doyle. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/306875/James-Joycehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/306875/James-Joycehttp://www.jamesjoyce.ie/listing.asp?id=14http://www.jamesjoyce.ie/listing.asp?id=14http://www.jamesjoyce.ie/listing.asp?id=14http://www.jamesjoyce.ie/listing.asp?id=14http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/306875/James-Joyce

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