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Analysis of Dubliner by James Joyce Abstract This four-page paper examines and discusses James Joyce constant use of the themes of family dynamics, marriage and economic realities in hist collection of fifteen short stories, Dubliners, published in 1907 -- - Dubliners. The paper references many of the short stories, which through symbolism conveys Joyce's central leitmotif that realistically paints Dublin and its citizenry of the early 1900 s. Joyce use the city of of the setting, Dublin in his native Ireland as the setting, for the short to stories to reveal his own feelings reaction and reaction feeling towards Dublin in particular and the early 20 th century Ireland as a whole The collection of short stories by James Joyce called Dubliners published in 1907 draws a picture of life in that city in the early 20 th century. , and The stories in this collection revolve around the everyday mundane lives of Dublin and its citizens. The book looks at the themes of parental abandonment, apostasy, lost love, financial failure, emotional paralysis, decay and finally death (both real and figurative). Dubliners is chronologically arranged in terms of the age of the characters who steadily grow older story by story, to represent the different facets of a Dubliners life.
Collectively, the short stories included in Dubliners image descriptive not only specifically descriptive of the people Dubliner in specific of the early 1900 s, but also of the country as a whole. Most of the stories in the collection are highly symbolic and indicative of Joyce's perceptions of the state and fate of Ireland in the turn of the century, particularly, the death of Ireland. Joyce's pessimistic view of the state of his country at that time is made abundantly clear in the course of this collection of stories, which flow together cohesively as if collectively all stories are part of they might be considered as one work. Most of the stories in the collection are highly symbolic of Joyce's perceptions of the state and fate of Ireland in the early 1900 s. Specifically the book looks at the themes of parental abandonment, apostasy, lost love, financial failure, decay and finally death. These indicate Joyce's perceptions of the death of Ireland.
James Joyce's Dubliners, a collection of short stories published in 1907, revolves around the everyday mundane lives of Dublin and its citizens. The most central theme transmitted by this collection is the emotional, psychological and even physical paralysis perceived by Joyce to be the crippling and incarcerating attitude of most Dubliners at that time. The general malaise that cloaks the common Dubliners life is mostly brought about by familial relationships, by religion, the City of Dublin, itself plus the individuals lack of purpose and determination in life. In Eveline, the protagonist finds herself standing between the horizon of a new life with a new set of possibilities and the boundary (the confinement) of her memories and social as well as congenital responsibilities to an abusive, alcoholic father.
Although she fought for her life as she have never before, desperately struggling to better her situation, she cannot shed off the oppressive weight of familial responsibilities, cultural norms and mores plus her own self definition. In the end, all these worked against her and undermined any attempt she might have made to seek happiness in a far away and exotic land -- - to begin a new life full of promise, hope, and ultimately salvation. It is also apparent in Araby, Two Gallants and The Sisters that Joyce employed certain focus to present a sharper image of how religion swayed and transformed the people of Dublin and contributed to their early 20 th century state of paralysis. The teachings of religion and the advent of industrialization somewhat created a conflicting situation in the city and together with the not so promising financial situation of Ireland at that time, they all contributed to the inaction and dullness of the citizenry. In his stories -- - Araby, Eveline, A Painful Case and The Dead, the author painted and reflected a Dublin that is harsh, limiting and frustrating to its citizen. The stories are fuelled by unfulfilled dreams, broken promises and incessant disappointments constant in the lives of the characters that they have started to expect and adapt their lives around their situation.
James Duffy, the main character in A Painful Case is the epitome of this. He is not only cynical about love but also scared of it. He is terrifyingly alone and isolated but his imprisonment is self-imposed, he has chosen this life for himself. Had he tried to grapple his way out of this desolate situation, he could have the embraced the happiness he deserve. However, Duffy lacks the courage to pursue his happiness especially with Mrs. Sinico, whom he has a wholly sexless relationship, despite the fact that they are both clearly unhappy and dissatisfied with their current situations.
James Duffy does not realize the extent of his isolation until it is too late. Little Chandler in Little Cloud is the best example of someone who has lost hope of ever redeeming himself from his current dismal situation. He claims of wanting to be like Gallaher but instead of trying, he embraces his own self assessment that he cannot escape his life since it is too late for him, and besides, he has furniture to pay for (Joyce, 70). Like most of Joyce's characters, Little Chandler seemed rather disinterested in changing his life (even if he verbally pronounced otherwise). The characters are static with their sheer lack of desire for progression and for the most part seem to find comfort in the thought that it is their fate; their destiny to live out their lives as it is.
According to Joyce himself, his intention was to write a chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene because the city seemed to be the centre of paralysis. Another pivotal theme in the collection is that of escape as illustrated by the characters and plot in several of the short stories in the collection. Many of the characters portrayed in Dubliners are in one way or another attempting to escape unsatisfying conditions they used to find themselves in their childhood (or are currently still in). The subject of escapism is evident in three of the short stories: Sisters, The Encounter and Araby. The main character in all the stories hope to escape the pressure of society, the stifling and paralyzing mores to achieve a particular state of liberation and ease. The main character (in all stories) did achieve to escape yet the breakout only seem to be in the surface for in his mind and heart he still has his internal feelings to contend with.
In effect, though Joyce has given his character the hope and the chance to break from his oppressive environment, he still leaves his character victim to the feelings that accompany death, boredom and the emotions that accompany the awakening from the physical and mental attraction to girls. The escape is not completely -- - he is still trapped firmly and irrevocably within his psychological and social boundaries. Between the themes of paralysis and escaping, Joyce was able to weave into his stories his observations and analysis of what is happening in the early 20 th century Dublin -- - the family dynamics, societal structures and the economic realities. The characters are very human in the sense that they all possess all the human magnificence and frailties. Joyce is not afraid to give his characters many flaws although they are not likeable and are often in a form of an emotional state. For Joyce, the revelation of truth would free Dublin's citizens from paralysis of Dublin and their daily lifes.
He believed that as a writer he should As there hold the mirror up to nature (Hamlet, Shakespeare) and thus, his collections even the love stories are not softened or sweetened; for this very reason the stories rarely have happily ever after type of endings. The stories in this collection portray the authors feeling that the city of Dublin is the epitome of paralysis brought about by the secularization and the industrialization of Dublin at the time. Moreover, all of the citizens are victims, left in a state of paralysis with no escape. Even though it is also evident that some Dubliners are trying their best to go above their current plight, reality still remains that the haplessness is there to stay together with the frustrating awareness of their powerlessness to do anything about their plight and the insights they have gained. Works Cited BOOK Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations: James Joyce's Dubliners.
New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. Garret, Peter K. Twentieth Century Interpretation od Dubliners. Englewood Cliffs, NJ; prentice Hall, Inc. , 1968. Joyce, James.
Dubliners. New York: Signet Classic, 1991. Kelly, John. Afterword Dubliners.
By James Joyce. New York Vintage International, 1993.
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Research essay sample on Analysis Of Dubliner By James Joyce
