In writing The Dead, the last short story in the collection Dubliners, James Joyce draws together major themes and motifs that are present in the stories leading up to it. One important theme throughout Joyce’s works is the nature of the epiphany, the sudden realization of something about one’s self. Having an epiphany is always a step towards maturity and it is something everyone will encounter during his life. Joyce manifests the notion of the epiphany through symbolic motifs that appear in the short stories, such as the references to circles, glasses, and the East in comparison to the West. An important leitmotif Joyce uses is the motif of circles. A circle is a constant loop that continues forever without a stopping point and no clear
…show more content…
The stranger begins by reminiscing to the boys of his schoolboy days and talking about the literature that he had read and then asks the boys if they have any sweethearts and goes on a tangent about young girls, good girls and beautiful girls. Joyce describes his mind as “slowly circling round and round in the same orbit” by “repeating his phrases over and over again, varying them and surrounding them with his monotonous voice” (13). His thoughts continue to circle into a tirade of chastisement and whipping as a way of punishing himself for his previous thoughts of girls, which emphasizes his bizarre character. The epiphany comes when the narrator is able to able to look at his friend Mahony, whom he “had always despised…a little,” relative to the strange man they had met and realize that Mahony is not beneath him. The circling thoughts of the strange man juxtapose the immaturity of Mahony, and as a result the narrator is able to view his friend relative to something else, which is a step towards …show more content…
In the story Eveline, the West symbolizes freedom from the hardships of life and a chance for a new life. Living with her father and younger siblings, Eveline has the grueling job of providing income to take care of the family. However, she is faced with the choice of moving to Buenos Ayres with her lover Frank, where he can “give her a life [and] perhaps love” or staying home to care for her family (23). Going West acts as a way of escaping to freedom, but Eveline realizes it is her duty to stay home, and as tempting as it is to escape, she cannot
The stranger begins by reminiscing to the boys of his schoolboy days and talking about the literature that he had read and then asks the boys if they have any sweethearts and goes on a tangent about young girls, good girls and beautiful girls. Joyce describes his mind as “slowly circling round and round in the same orbit” by “repeating his phrases over and over again, varying them and surrounding them with his monotonous voice” (13). His thoughts continue to circle into a tirade of chastisement and whipping as a way of punishing himself for his previous thoughts of girls, which emphasizes his bizarre character. The epiphany comes when the narrator is able to able to look at his friend Mahony, whom he “had always despised…a little,” relative to the strange man they had met and realize that Mahony is not beneath him. The circling thoughts of the strange man juxtapose the immaturity of Mahony, and as a result the narrator is able to view his friend relative to something else, which is a step towards …show more content…
In the story Eveline, the West symbolizes freedom from the hardships of life and a chance for a new life. Living with her father and younger siblings, Eveline has the grueling job of providing income to take care of the family. However, she is faced with the choice of moving to Buenos Ayres with her lover Frank, where he can “give her a life [and] perhaps love” or staying home to care for her family (23). Going West acts as a way of escaping to freedom, but Eveline realizes it is her duty to stay home, and as tempting as it is to escape, she cannot