James Joyce The Dead - Essay Example

? James Joyce an Irish composed a volume of short stories known as Dubliner, out of which the most famous and the longest is “The Dead”. This story looks like a simple tale of a family celebrating Christmas party but Joyce has always kept hidden meaning, in the form of symbolism for his readers; to understand the purpose of the story. He has tried to show his readers the corruption in relations and stagnation in expansion of society. Death is a symbol which usually represents the end of a life form but in this story, it awakened dead from his sleep. In this story, the protagonist misunderstood the objectives of life. He seemed unaware of the reality, which was always apparent and prominent. Firstly I will compare the irony o f wealth and treatment of lower class by the upper class. Then the political decline and its effects on Irish people, the difference of opinion of the same member of the Dublin community and their responses. Afterwards I’ll shed light, on how miscommunication can lead to tragedy, especially in Gabriel’s situation with his wife. From there onwards, the implication of isolation, death and love will be explained, like; the way it is presumed by different people. Gabriel’s self absorbed approach, significance of snow, Gretta’s lost love will be compared and seen through a diverse approach. Joyce represented many themes in his story; which reveal the potential behavior and life style; a person can acquire. The life of residents of Dublin not only revolved around class discrimination but it also showed different phases of life. The lower class seemed to be hassling with how to make ends meet; through miserable jobs in Dublin. As it is clearly visible throughout the story, it made young Maria bitter who wanted to earn through a respected mean. It also shows how a person can be strongly affected by poverty individually and then effects society at large with the envy . The financially sound people of Dublin seem to be unaware of the emotional and physical wretchedness poorer faced. They are unaware of the impact of their actions and words. Like a coin given by Gabriel to Lily, would sooth away her worries. “O Lily!” he said, thrusting it into her hands, “ It’s Christmas time, isn’t it? Just…….. here’s a little……..” (Joyce, P.8). His manners showed that he did care about her but wouldn’t do much to change it. “The dead “is an enriching story, which blends the happy occasions with acute reflections and numerous chief but small incidents, which lead to the radical end of the tale. Joyce has shown the political decline of Irish politics and the despondent behavior of its nation. He has shown the affects of colonization on the lives of Dubliners. He didn’t agree with strategy and cultural norms set by some nationalist of his time and was not a bit inspired by any objectives set by them. "O, innocent Amy! I have found out that you write for The Daily Express. Now, aren't you ashamed of yourself?" (Joyce, P.20).Though Miss Ivors’s intentions were to make small joke and sooth the tension in the air through humor, but due to guilt Gabriel took it personally. “Of course, I was only joking. Come, we cross now.”, Said Miss Ivors. (Joyce, P.20). During the dance Miss Ivors reminding Gabriel his foremost duty for his nation in a pleasant manner, is evident for the readers to understand the state of melancholic situation; they all felt them self in; due to revolting propaganda of The Daily Express. Over here, Gabriel mistook pleasant criticism into sarcasm. Church was also a disputed matter, as women were not allowed to sing choirs and Aunt Kate subtly puts forward the matter to his audience about feminist criticism and biased decision of Pope, to put of the lovely voice of Aunt Julia. The unfairness in different areas of society made people more anxious. Gabriel misunderstood love and Gretta seemed tied with the marriage but was actually in love with a dead boy. The dilemma of close but unreachable, is shown very artistically in this story. It shows not all who claim to be in love; are actually in love. Some characters felt trapped into relations and into situations. They experienced the stasis which shows the impotent feature of the ruling class. The frustration is visible in the manners, as lower class shows it through bitterness but upper class shows it through being slouchy like Freddy. Even over here we can observe people composing them self for the sake of appearance. Joyce showed isolation in many forms in the story. He deciphered it through actions and behaviors of his characters. Living alone is not only counted as isolation but living with a person who becomes completely unreachable, is also one way of isolation. Communication gap is visible all over the anecdote. The relationship of Gretta and Gabriel is one example, where one is physically available but emotionally absent. The misunderstanding of Gabriel is one good example where absence of love can throw a person into realization mode. As the name implies “The Dead” reveals the theme of death and it’s after effects. Life will end, people will die it’s not a matter of choice but it’s a set system for all. Everything has to end up, even love and loyalty. Gabriel thinks about his beloved aunts and the day when he will go in their funeral. He is ready for death, as it isn’t scaring him anymore but ultimately it taught him a lesson of survival for the time in this world. Death cannot be cured nor can be altered. What seems interesting is, he thinks he will see people die but in reality he was dead himself. If not physically but emotionally. Death of Gabriel’s love life is also a symbolic representation of loosing people from within. The inability to forget lost love and love again, portrays the picture of real life and tells us about the dilemma of love triangle. Realization is a powerful antidote, when one seems to be on the wrong side of the path, but here remembering and recalling made matter worse for a loving couple. They once shared romance through small acts of affection but were visibly affected by the song MR. D’Arcy sang, The Lass of Aughram. Gretta’s heart was turned and she travelled back in time towards Micheal Furey’s love. First love is unforgettable. This changed the whole scenario for Gabriel. His entire married life seemed meaningless. He thought of himself self as a considerate husband, equally loved by her wife but it didn’t happen according to his expectation. Joyce represents his views through his stories, and his characters speak his words. One can only perceive his ideas by understanding his logic. His idea of narrating a story at Christmas time, shows his aim for people to identify the meaning of snow. Through snow, Joyce explained many important factors of human behavior. Gabriel is shown as a powerful man who rules, and is preventive and cold towards his fellow man. He is well educated and has an imposing personality. However, he is also shown nervous and concern about his speech, which shows his concern of putting an impression. He isn’t a selfish person but cannot think about others above himself. While shown with Maria in conversation, he seemed to rush away from the awkward situation, rather than advising her to be optimistic. Snow hides the beauty of all. It glows with its own elegance but conceals other’s glamour. Gabriel said about Gretta, “she'd walk home in the snow if she were let." (Joyce, P.10) .The desire to walk in snow shown by Gretta shows her courageous attitude and lack of fear for the arising problem. On the other hand, Gabriel’s need to protect Gretta reveals the insecurity of keeping her close due to fear of losing her. He again misunderstood physical closeness cannot bring people close to each other. Winter is a season of holidays; which shows the connection with joy and family time, but it is also considered as a season of death because life seems to freeze and the growth is stopped. "I love the look of snow," said Aunt Julia sadly. (Joyce, P. 53). Simultaneously the title suggests a gloomy story directly related to death, which is not the case. The beginning is pleasant and one wonders where the story is headed with every communication and passing moment. All the situations are seen from Gabriel’s view, but in the end his views became even unfamiliar to him. Joyce has illustrated the emotional hype; one can feel in the shortest span of time. One event or one incident changes the life of well- adjusted couple. He has prudently shown the dilemma through distressing intense observation of social satire. Illusions of the past do haunt and can blur the present with lack of honesty and love. The description of modern love is an honest one, where ignorance is ecstasy and awareness leads to disclosure of discernment of relations. Eventually, Joyce showed his audience one can never find perfection in life. The palpable repression of Ireland by England is also visible in the characters of the story. The characters render the aim of restiveness in author’s view of Ireland and the domination of England. Gabriel considers himself better than the rest of guests, socially as well as intellectually at Misses Morkan’s party in Dublin. Joyce has shown disdain for heritage through Gabriel’s character. The dissatisfaction from country, politics, religion, relations, surroundings and finally from his own family and love which leaves him alone eventually, in a state of insight; where he feels unfit as a person himself. Joyce has shown the contrast between dead and alive. Dead as Micheal Furey, who still lived through his actions of true love; instead of alive like Gabriel whose words, fail to portray his love. Micheal has given death an optimistic nuance. It enabled Gabriel to castaways his self absorbent behavior and see for the first time the true situation with naked eye. The intellectuality and pomp use of language failed him to communicate his love to his wife even. He perceived for the first time that he is more dead; sentimentally then alive. Joyce has shown the conflict and contrast of his view regarding Victorian and modern ages. Gabriel is shown as a representative of Victorian school of thought, where goals are attained through prominent social status and snobbish attitude. Becoming a part of Victorian culture, Gabriel lost his identity and love. He lived as a dead man with nothing important to live for except social etiquette and status. Bibliography: Joyce, James, and Daniel R. Schwarz. The Dead: Complete, Authoritative Text with Biographical and Historical Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Five Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1994. Print. Read More