Gabriel The Dead

Improved Essays
Richard Kearney, a twentieth-century Irish scholar, stated that the culture-crisis of his homeland has been a result of clashes between generations. Typically, the older generation favors national traditions and the revival of past customs while the younger generation favors more cosmopolitan and international lifestyles. This generation gap is apparent throughout James Joyce’s short story, “The Dead,” as the main character—a young modernist—is disconnected from his family—mostly revivalists—due to their distinct belief systems. The main character, Gabriel, does not feel that he fits in when he is with his family. “The Dead” supports the claim by Kearney that the Irish culture-crisis is a result of clashes between revivalists and modernists …show more content…
When first arriving at the party, Gabriel speaks to the caretaker’s daughter, Lily, and jokingly asks her if she has any plans to marry. However, Lily’s reply shocks Gabriel; she retorts, “The men that is now is only all palaver and what they can get out of you.” This response agitated Gabriel, and he felt foolish for not even being able to engage in meaningless small-talk. He “coloured as if he felt he had made a mistake,” and he did not quickly dismiss these feelings as later on he “was still discomposed by the girl’s bitter and sudden retort.” Furthermore, Gabriel feels disconnect between himself and his family when he ponders what quotation to include in his upcoming speech during dinner. Gabriel “was undecided about the lines from Robert Browning for he feared they would be above the heads of his hearers. Some quotation that they could recognise from Shakespeare or from the Melodies would be better.” Gabriel is aware that his knowledge and literary interests are different from his family’s. The last feeling of disconnect at the party occurs between Gabriel and Miss Ivors while they are dancing. First, Miss Ivors jabs at Gabriel for writing for a newspaper that she believes is too sympathetic to England, or untraditional. She says slatingly to Gabriel, “I’m ashamed of you. To say you’d write for a rag like that.” Also, after learning that Gabriel has planned a biking trip through other nations as a …show more content…
Gabriel notices that something is bothering her. Upon questioning her, Gabriel learns that Gretta is upset because a song she had heard at the party reminded her of a past lover who she believes had died for her. This news is another shock to Gabriel. He immediately begins self-scrutinizing as a “shameful consciousness of his own person assailed him” Gabriel knows that what his wife and her old lover had was true love, but the most painful realization occurs when he admits “he had never felt like that himself towards any woman but he knew that such a feeling must be love.” Gabriel does not truly love his wife because she is nothing like him. She is “country cute” and too traditional. Gabriel’s mother knew Gretta was not the right girl for Gabriel because his mother encouraged Gabriel’s international perspective. Gabriel was not ever able to fully love Gretta because she held him back from becoming who he wanted to be.
The disconnect between Gabriel and his family in “The Dead” supports Richard Kearney’s belief that the Irish culture-crisis of the twentieth century was a result of a generation gap between the older, more traditional generation and the younger, more international generation. Gabriel—the modernist—is unable to completely fit in with his family—the revivalists—because of their different belief systems. This feeling of disconnection troubles Gabriel throughout

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