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Example research essay topic: Twentieth Century James Joyce - 1,407 words

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Marriage in Dubliners Abstract The setting of James Joyce's Dubliners is the City of Dublin in the early turn of the century, the time when Ireland is caught in the morass of political struggles; economic upheaval and secularization which have flaunt the Irish into a bleak despondency. The discussion will mainly focus on how people responded to this situation by how they treat love, marriage and family. Dubliners, a novel of James Joyce which is actually a collection of fifteen short stories is a sort of personal observation and commentary of the author about the state of early 1900 Dublin and in effect, the whole situation in the country. Ireland in the beginning of the twentieth century is in a state of chaotic state wherein people are inundated with conflicting changes and harsh consequences of the economic industrialization and religious secularization.

These realities have pushed the people into a vacuum brought about by the circumstances and their cultural and religious traditions. The collection of stories can actually be seen as one complete literary work weaving the stories of different people in various circumstances but having similar or almost identical views, reactions and eventually decisions regarding their plight. Joyce explored and scrutinized the psyche of the early century Dubliner and was able to depict his characters to effectively reflect the common Dubliners life in the turn of the twentieth century. The theme commonly conveyed by Joyce's work is the emotional, psychological and to a certain degree physical paralysis most Dubliners are subjected to during that despairing time. This despondency and bleakness saturated the lives of the people that it is not surprising to find people who are developing and cultivating varying stages of incarcerating attitude towards their lives even when they are also ardently seeking ways to escape the very lives they are living. Most of the characters are seeking redemption from the mire of economic stagnation and religious attachment (Catholic Church) and social obligations.

In consequence, the way they live, their views about life in general and family in particular are but mirrors of the signs of their era. Personally, James Joyce considers marriage as a trap set by the Catholic Church to confine and restrain ones spirit and eschew that one chance of finding true happiness. For instance in the "The Boarding House, " Mr. Doran has confessed to a priest about his little affair with The Madams daughter and he was counseled and warned that he has to marry the girl or he will lose his job: his employer would be sure to hear of it.

He does not love Polly but he knows he must marry her even though she is of a lower class and her family will look down on her because her father was a drunk and her mothers boarding house was beginning to get a certain fame. He does not want to yield to the prescribed option but he has to make it in the end because the Church warns him it is his duty. Deciding on the other option is not only sinning against the mandate of his religion but with a more pragmatic reason -- -it also means losing his job and throwing away the industrious years he has solely dedicated to the traditionally religious company. It could mean parting with the fruits of his labor and turning his back on the reward and eventual success he has earned for himself. On the other hand, Polly, his intended has a totally different view about the marriage and a thoroughly distinct reason for coveting the marriage. And so, with The Madam, although they have not planned nor spoken about how close Polly is getting with the boarder, Mr.

Doran, both mother and daughter are working on some scheme of trapping the poor guy into marrying Polly. Eveline, of the fourth story Eveline, has an almost exact reason for requiring a husband. Although she did not do any trick to lure Frank into asking him to marry her, the main reason why she accepted his offer is to free her from the shackles of poverty that fetters her to a false and abused familial duty and responsibility. Polly and her mother also want a marriage to provide them with security not necessary of the material kind (the boardinghouse is doing well, in fact, Polly does not need to work) but the kind that will secure their place, particularly Polly's place, in the society -- -- marrying the right kind of man.

Both would be brides have never, even in their minds, entertained the idea that in acquiring a husband, they will have someone to love and who will love them in return. Romantic feelings are the most farthest from their lives. Eveline is hoping in the end she will find love but foremost in her mind is the adventure of putting up a house in Buenos Ayres and she would be married -- she, Eveline. People would treat her with respect then. She would not be treated as her mother had been. When Polly was waiting for her mother to finish her interview with Mr.

Doran, she was left in his room crying yet in the course of the waiting she forgot what she was waiting for. An absolute sign that one, she knows that eventually her mother will have her way and two, although secure in the knowledge that she will get what she want, at the back of her mind she does not really care for Bob Doran and the only value attached to the outcome of the interview is the fact that she will get her way. If for the women characters the only reason for needing a husband is protection and security; the male characters are portrayed as martyrs duped and ensnared in the Holy Sacrament of Irish Matrimony. The outcome of the such marriage -- - living with a nag as in the case of Little Chandler of A Little Cloud and an empty house (wife is in the chapel when he arrived late at night) for Farrington of Counterparts -- - is the exact image of what life will be for Mr. Doran and most probably for Frank. Though it was not explicitly stated that it was the marriage that made these men's lives bleak and hellish, it was surely suggested in the stories that the marriage, in one way or another, has become an encumbrance and a liability in finding the mens happiness and fulfillment.

In more ways that one, the author wants to convey the message that the male characters in the stories act the way they do (even in despicable manners) because of the burden the family has become. Farrington is a full blown alcoholic who has to pawn his watch for drink money and his friends companionship because he is not treated well in the company he works in and his only consolation comes from the time he spends with his friends and the anger he unleashed to his family. Little Chandler, a the disillusioned poet, on the other hand, spend his time away from work immersed in poetry he cannot even share with his wife and all the while impugning his unrewarding job, his wife, his screaming baby and his whole circumstances for losing the chance to reach his dream. The portrayal of these characters as such is a clear manifestation of how the author wants to give an authentic picture of what has become of Ireland amidst the early 1900 s national quandary. The Ireland of the early twentieth century suffered from degeneration and stagnation. The people are shattered not only by natural calamity caused by famine but also by the political catastrophe -- - the death of Parnell and the dashed hope for independence.

With the general cataclysmic situation brought about by these events and the general malaise that cloaks the citizenry, Ireland has become a nation paralyzed by the fundamental components of their own community -- - the stagnant economy, the religion, class differences, familial duties and responsibilities. The Dubliners are unable to get on their feet because the very structures that would have propped them up were the same ones they have dragged with them in their moments of frustration, desperation and powerlessness to do anything about the difficulties they find themselves in. Works Cited 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 Twentieth Century James Joyce

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