James Joyces Portrayal of Dublin as a Paralyzed Country - Term Paper Example

English 4 March James Joyce’s Portrayal of Dublin as a Paralyzed Country Introduction James Joyce’s Book Dubliners is a collection of fifteen carefully crafted and intricate short stories in which Joyce portrays various lives of the citizens of Dublin through which he illustrates the paralysis that had engulfed his fellow countrymen. As Parrinder also states, “Dubliners betrays fewer illusions about Ireland and Joyce’s manner is rigorously detached and impartial. He is a naturalist to the extent that he allows the paralysis of the Dublin society to betray itself rather than analyzing it or denouncing it openly” (43-44). Moreover Joyce himself claims that, “My intention was to write a chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene because that city seemed to me the centre of paralysis” (Leonard 320). Such a projection of paralysis is also observed in the stories, The Sisters, Eveline and The Dead. 1.1. The Sisters The story is depicted in first person narration illustrating a tale of a Priest’s death named Father Flynn. The narrator was a friend of the priest who depicts the tale of the incidents that take place after his death and struggles to collect clues about the sins of the Father for which the Father had wanted forgiveness. 1.2. Eveline Eveline reiterates a story of a young woman. Since she was born she had lived an unhappy and a tough life. She had always desired for an escape from her life in Dublin although when fate presents her with that golden chance she does not have the courage to avail it because she is unable to ignore her other responsibilities and leave her past for a new future. 1.3. The Dead The Dead is one of the master pieces of James Joyce because in this story the author has incorporated the concentrate of all the themes that Joyce is observed to be developing in his other short stories. It has a variety of characters from various age groups who have gathered for a musicale. However the basic focus of the story is on Gabriel and the manner in which he deals with the people around him. 2. Projection of Paralysis In the story The Sisters it is stated, “I softly said the word paralysis…it sounded to me like the name of some maleficent and sinful being” (2) this comment can be interpreted as Joyce’s style of establishing his dislike for the condition of his countrymen in the first short story of his collection. The major thematic concerns that reflect this paralysis include religion and criticism of the Church, isolation, decay and escapism. C. A. Malcolm and D. Malcolm state that, “through his representative characters and carefully crafted environment, Joyce illuminates the forces that determine, but in such a way that we can see those forces as imprisoning, binding, paralyzing” (166). 2.1. Religion Religion is a recurring theme in most of Joyce’s short stories as he condemns the stifling strictures of catholic believes and hence he is observed to be criticizing and questioning the holy sacrament of the Catholic Church. However the characters symbolize the paralytic state of his countrymen who never questioned the actions of Church and wasted away their lives according to the stifling and confining bounds set by the Catholic Church. The manner in which the character of the priest is depicted in the story and the hint of his sins reiterates that although church is holy institution yet even the pious people commit sins although no one would ever voice out such an opinion. As the narrator says that he saw the priest in his dream as mentioned in the text “it began to confess to me in a murmuring voice…” (4).It is also symbolic from the line, “…sitting up by himself in the dark in his confession box…” (10). the presence of the priest in the confession box also hints on a dark past. Similarly in story The Dead Joyce uses Aunt Kate as his mouthpiece to criticize the unjust and biased attitude of the church. As it is mentioned in the text, “…it is not honorable for the pope to turn out women out of the choirs that have slaved there all their lives... I suppose it is for the good of the church if the Pope does it it’s not just May Jane not right” (174). 2.2. Isolation James Joyce depicts paralysis of the Dubliners by using theme of isolation in terms that illustrates the reality of human existence according to Joyce’s point of view i.e. people are mere strangers. This theme depicts the paralysis of the Dubliners because it shows the numb existence of the citizens as their paralytic state has taken away their power and need to form deeper bonds with others. This theme also reflects the lack of communication or the extent of miscommunication between the people. In the Dead it is depicted, “They would think that he was airing his superior education. He would fail with them just as he had failed with the girl in the pantry” (159). This line was said by Gabriel and it can be interpreted in terms that it explains the void that is present even amongst the people who have spent all their lives together as was the case with Gabriel and Lily yet there is no mental compatibility in their relationship and hence they misinterpret each others concerns. Then again the episode of Gretta and Gabriel where Gretta confesses about her past lover Michael Furey after such a long time reiterates the lack of communication and points out towards the isolated existence this paralysis has resulted in where people do not communicate with one another on a deeper level and has their own secrets. Similarly in Eveline the protagonist is observed to be having no one with whom she could share the miseries of her life. It appears that according to Joyce’s perception of life and relationships although man is social animal and lives with other people in this world yet in reality an individual is alone everywhere. Every human being has to carry his own burden as also observed from the last lines of the story, “her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition” (29). The manner in which the relationship of Frank and Eveline ends depicts that love is a temporary feeling which eventually loses its charm because the paralytic state of his countrymen has rendered them unable to feel anything. In other words this paralysis has numbed the human beings to the core and has absorbed all kind of emotions from their body and soul. 2.3. Death and Decay It is stated in The Sister that, “…it had died of paralysis” (4). This reference elaborates that paralysis is a state that will ultimately results in the death of an individual. Hence in his entire collection of short stories the resultant death and decay due to the stagnation of the people is reflected through various symbols and metaphors. For example the winter or the chilly season is a common setting in his short stories and winter season is generally associated with and symbolic of death or an end. The story The Dead ends with the line, “his soul swooned slowly as he heard snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling like the descent of their last end upon all the living and dead” (203). Here snow is a metaphor that is used to reflect the numbness or paralysis of the country and their isolation as well as death. Similarly in both the stories Eveline and the Sisters death is prominent theme as observed that in The Sisters the over all morose and dreary atmosphere of the story is because of the Father’s death. While in Eveline everything changed in her life after the death of her mother and her brother Ernest. Hence theme of mortality and decay reiterates that paralytic state of the Dubliners which gradually leads them towards their end i.e. death. 2.4. Heritage and Escapism Another theme that is common in all the three short stories is heritage and escapism that explicitly depicts the paralytic state of the Dubliners. Heritage is interpreted in terms of identity, past and roots. In Eveline the protagonist wishes for an escape as she herself says, “Escape! She must escape! Frank would save her” (28). Yet when fate provides her with a chance to bring about a change she cowers because her roots held her in a grip so stifling that hindered her movement to take the final step as also mentioned in the story, “…he would drown her…amid the sea she sent a cry of anguish…she set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal” (29). These lines not only depict her mind frame as her roots have paralysed her from moving forward but also show the cowardice of the Dubliners who are not prepared to take the plunge and taste a new and better life. Similarly in The Sisters the hints of a bad or a scandalized past of the priest also reiterates that the Dubliners will waste all their lives in dwelling in the past and ultimately seek death to achieve their freedom rather than moving on in life. Gabriel says, “I’m sick of my own country, sick of it!” (169). Although Gabriel immensely dislikes his own country yet he is unable to do anything to change his life. However he is able to get a temporary escape by going for cycling to Germany or Belgium. 3. Conclusion Hence Joyce utilizes the major common thematic concerns of his works to portray the paralysis in his collection of short stories the Dubliners.. As Power an Schneider also state, “the state of paralysis is not confined to its representational and symbolic quality but must be taken as a moment of artistic presentation that immediately sets free aspects of the Other (dreams, visions, desires) and is to be related…to the processes of deconstruction and to the differance of meaning, which Joycean texts perform” (117). Reference: Joyce, James. Dubliners. New York: Signet Classics, 2007. Print. Leonard, Martin, Garry. Reading Dubliners Again: A Lacanian Perspective. New York: Syracuse University Press, 1993. Print. Malcolm, Alexander, Cheryl and Malcolm, David. A Companion to British and Irish Short Stories. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2008. Print. Parrinder, Patrick. James Joyce. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984. Print. Power, Mary and Schneider Ulrich. New Perspective on Dubliners. Amsterdam: Rodopi B.V, 1994. Print. Read More