The Dead: A Story of Transition and Finding Life - Essay Example

? of The Dead: A Story of Transition and Finding Life The story “The Dead” written by James Joyce is about relationships not just among people but with a person to the place where he belongs. The story has different themes and motifs that are threaded together in terms of belongingness to the place where the characters such as Gabriel, Gretta, and Miss Ivors are living. The author has noted that different characters in the story have criticism to their lives because they feel absolutely dead. The meaning of dead in the story is that people want to live a better life but seemingly they are trapped to make changes. They embrace better places because they are not happy with their environment. The motive of the author in the book is to make the characters realize the fact that they were not embracing the new lands but better changes in life. The aim of this paper to analyze the transition in the story in terms of Gabriel regretting being in Ireland and later on understanding that it was his living ways that he needed to change. The story seemingly criticizes Ireland for many reasons at different instances. It is evident from the projection of different characters that are showing disappointment regarding Ireland. The reason behind the disappointment or criticism is not just due to the embrace for different countries but to a newer sphere. It is evident that people in the story The Dead are willing to bring change in their lives. By moving to another place, they believe that they can change their lives and be better of themselves. Most of the characters projected in the story are Irish but their embracement for other countries show as if they do not belong to Ireland (Joyce). This shows that Ireland is not a place for relationships and adventures which makes different characters of the story to long for better place to live at. For instance, the school boy as projected in the story shows likeness to the Wild West because he believed that it is a place one would dream to explore. As the protagonist of the story, Gabriel shows excitement to go to France because he believes that it is the place where he can go away from people who challenge him to get back on them. It is mainly because people at Ireland or people around Gabriel have questions and answers back to him which annoys him (Joyce). However, at the latter instances of the stories, it is visible that Gabriel finds out that it is him who needs to change the view about life and give everyone a fair chance to be themselves. Similar to feelings of Gabriel about Ireland, other characters in the movie such as Little Chandler also wants to go abroad from Ireland because he believes that Ireland has no opportunities. It should also be noted that Gabriel believes that he does not belong to Ireland. This is mainly because he is undergoing a feeling which notes that he feels less able to control his circumstances. People and things that he adored the most were not in his hands. He was losing the strength and grip on his beliefs that he was wise and belonged to the people around him (Joyce). Gretta for instance was the dearest person in Gabriel’s life but when he gets to know that she was missing his first love, he understands that he needs to change his outlook of life and try to adjust to the place and with people who are around him. At the beginning of the story whenever Gabriel felt that he is not able to elaborate his feelings, he considered criticizing Ireland because this could make him feel that he has an answer to the questions backs of people. But soon he realizes that it was wrong of him to consider the place as wrong. He has been shown to undergo a transition by the end of the novel where the readers could also understand that the criticism in the book against Ireland was just to pose the problems each character had. The problem and criticism towards Ireland becomes quiet easier to understand by the end of the novel in the picture of slow adjustment of Gabriel with his country (Joyce). This transition can also be termed as a symbol of the story relating to the change in one’s life. This can also be noted as a calm acceptance of the fact that Gabriel noted later on. It should also be noted that to understand get a grasp of the situation, the author has projected Gabriel to travel abroad for vacation. The author has noted in different instances of the story that Gabriel becomes helpless when people answer him back as he does not like to be led by others. The only closest person in his life has been depicted to be his wife Gretta (Joyce). Thus, through the above analysis of the story and role played by different characters, it comes to understanding that there are a number of projections that have criticized Ireland. But it should be noted that the analysis proves a transition. However, the author has shown a number of instances where Ireland proves to be unlucky place for the characters but with the understanding of circumstances, these characters get to understand that the main issue was due to the ways they were relating to their peers. Gabriel creates understanding with his ways to dealing with people when he finds out that it is impossible for him to take a toll on others action. This completely notes that the issue was not to live in Ireland. Thus, by the end of the author has made it quiet evident that Ireland was a suitable place and it could make no difference to the characters would have travelled abroad. At the end of the novel, all the characters are projected to find their respective opportunities to sustain happy living in Ireland. Works Cited Joyce, James. The Dead. New York: Coyote Canyon Press, 2008. Read More