The Dubliners by James Joyce - Essay Example

Dubliners Introduction The Dubliners is a collection made up of 15 stories written by James Joyce. The collection was published for the first time in 1914. The short stories were meant to naturally depict the Irish middle class life in the early 20th century around and inside Dublin. The short stories, just like any other written literature, embody different multiple themes. This essay will focus on two short stories by James Joyce, namely, ‘The Sisters’ and ‘The Dead’. Even though there are many different themes that can be identified in these two stories, this paper will only discuss how the theme of death functions in the two short stories. In the first story, ‘the sisters’, the narrator, who is a young and nameless boy, speaks of his friend, Father Flynn, who has just suffered a stroke for the third time. This is evident when the narrator says that “There was no hope for him this time: it was the third stroke.” (James, p. 1). This is the first line in the story. The narrator passes by his friend’s window everyday to see if his friend has passed away. This is also seen when the narrator says “Night after night I had passed the house (it was vacation time) and studied the lighted square of window:” (James, p. 1). He looks out for two candles as the sing that his friend has died. This is because two candles will be placed at the corpse’s head. The boy says “and night after night I had found it lighted in the same way, faintly and evenly.”The narrator’s friend is paralyzed and this word sounds really strange to the narrator. The narrator is quoted saying that there was no hope for his friend. The story reveals that it is the narrator’s first experience with death and he does not know what to think about it. This is also seen when the story says that “It filled me with fear, and yet I longed to be nearer to it and to look upon its deadly work.” (James, p. 1). As the story unfolds, the boy is seen contemplating the illness and impending death of his friend, Father Flynn (James, p. 3). The narrator really admired Father Flynn and really looked up to him. He began to feel deeply sorry about his condition and impending death. He was still very young and could not handle death very well. He tries to think of happy thoughts such as Christmas and cover his head with his blanket so that he does not keep remembering about Father Flynn’s suffering and death. However, he keeps thinking about sadness and death. The boy began to feel guilty that he had not visited Father Flynn in his last days before his death. The narrator must conceal all these from his adult environment where his friend, Father Flynn, is nothing but a total failure. In fact, his death comes as a relief since the boy needed to be protected from him because he was considered a very bad example (James, p. 5). The theme of death in this story has been used as a culmination or consequence of certain behavior. Many critics of the book have identified that the Priests cause of death as a result of his behavior. His mental illness must have been the final stages of a sexually transmitted infection, mostly syphilis. This is the reason why the priest was not considered a good example to the boy. The boy was too young to understand the circumstances leading to the death of the priest. The writer of the story used the theme of death to bring out the fact that despite the great spiritual powers that the Catholic Church vests in its priests, the priests must also bear incredible spiritual responsibility. Otherwise, they will perish just like Father Flynn. The Catholic Church has made the priests appear like the caretakers of the souls of men. They act as though they are the intermediaries through which sin is atoned for. The mental decline of the priest however shows that he is just human and vulnerable just like all other men. This has been perfectly brought out by the theme of death (James, p. 6). In the second story, ‘the dead’, the author begins by explaining how two spinster sisters, Kate and Julian Morkan, are having their annual Misses Morkan’s dance during the holiday season. The writer then brings Lily into the picture. She is the caretaker’s daughter and has very many tasks that she is expected to perform. This is evident as the story begins by saying, “Lily, the caretaker's daughter, was literally run off her feet” (James, p. 151). The Morkan’s dance is always very huge and demanding. It hosts family members, members of Julia’s choir and former music pupils. This is evident when the story reveals that “Everybody who knew them came to it, members of the family, old friends of the family, the members of Julia's choir, any of Kate's pupils that were grown up enough, and even some of Mary Jane's pupils too.” (James, p. 1). The theme of death in this story starts to appear when the writer informs us the Pate, Kate and Julia’s brother, had died. Kate and Julia have lived with their niece Mary Jane since the death of their brother. She has been earning through their music (James, p. 34). There are different ways the theme of death can be viewed in the story. One way is through those who have been mentioned by the author as being dead. For example, Pate, who was Kate and Julia’s brother. Michael Furey is also an example of a person who has been mentioned by the author as having died. This is evident in the story when it says “It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill where Michael Furey lay buried.” (James, p. 196). Another way that the theme of death can be analyzed in this story is through viewing the dead as all those who attended the Morkan’s party, apart from Gabriel. At the end of the story, Gabriel says that it is time he begins his journey westward. This is closely associated with death but some critics seem to propose that this means Gabriel is beginning a rejuvenated life. Snow in the story has also been used to signify the layer of death that covers the entire region of Ireland. The theme of death functions in this story by showing aspects of mortality and isolation. The scene of the story is during the winter season, a season of death well as a holiday season. Aunt Kate is too old to such an extent that she cannot hear Gabriel as he speaks. Gabriel depicts the theme of death through his thoughts by telling himself that very soon, he is going to come back to the same house, not for a party, but for the funeral of his aunts. In this story, death has generally been used to show the good times that people go through and forget that there are hard times too. Life is full of both happy and sad times. In conclusion, the two stories have been found by critics to deal with death. In the first story, ‘the sisters’, death is maintained from the beginning to the end. In the second story, the author talks about death but mixes it with the joys of the occasion taking place at the scene. In both cases, a reader is able to gradually realize and understand the theme of death and how it has been used by the author in both stories. Work cited James, J. Dubliners. New York, Forgotten Books, 2008. Print. 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