Dubliners by James Joyce - Essay Example

What do you make of Joyces treatment of the father-child relationship in these stories? What does Dubliners reveal about the different types of fathers Joyce evidently witnessed in the Dublin of 1904? What kinds of effects does the presence or absence of these different fathers have on their children? James Joyce is the author of the short stories found in book Dubliners. Joyce uses different characters in the stories in a satirical way to show what was going on in the Dublin society in the year 1904. The characters in this book face difficult life challenges and in one way or the other they seek redemption. In the process of doing so they go through tragic events which leave them in a quagmire. This essay will mainly focus on the question of the father-child relationship in Dublin and the major challenges it faced. In the book Dubliners, James Joyce brings out the theme of fatherhood, in a couple of stories, to show the issues that revolved around it. James treats the father-child relationship as a delicate subject because he touches on the challenges faced by both the children who had father figures and those who lacked one. His point of view of the father-child relationship in Dublin is mainly seen in the stories Eveline, After the Race and The Sisters. In Eveline, we get to view the nature of an abusive father and how he treats his daughter. Eveline is a character who is manipulated and abused by her father, but despite all the suffering she goes through, she still cares for him. In the first paragraph, Eveline is contemplating whether to have a good life or stay at home and suffer. This confusion is brought about because she feels that her father is growing old, and he might need her. Through this act of empathy is not as a result of her father’s kindness, he treats her in the most despicable manner by being violent towards her and threatening her. Eveline, though she is nineteen years old and all grown up, she is terrified by her father’s violence. She ends up living a sad life and gives up her only chance of being happy with her lover, Frank, to care for her father and family (p. 25-29). In After the Race, Jimmy Doyle has a father who is present in terms of begin around him but absent in his life. Jimmy Doyle in the story, is a rich young man who has been provided for everything by the father, but he turns out spoilt. Jimmy is a mediocre child who does not portray any interest in school, despite been provided with good education. The father being a rich and successful man is expected to guide his son in ways of managing money and living a humble life so as to make it in life, but he fails. Instead, he blindly gives his son a “good life” and a lavish lifestyle, but at the end of the story he is left in shame and agony after losing his money (p. 30-35). The Sisters is a story that looks at the issue of children who lack a father figure around. James brings out a character who is referred to as “the boy” who is the narrator. In the story, the boy is not seen to have a biological father around. Therefore, Father Lynn acts like a mentor and father-like figure to the boy. It is evident that the bond between the Father and the boy is good because the boy cares about the father when he is sick. The narrator goes to an extent of showing how he went to the Father Flynn’s house every night to see if the father was all right. The love is also portrayed when the narrator is angered by the comments of Mr. Cotter when he disapproves their relationship. However, their relationship is a bit ironic because the boy has dreams that make the readers question their relationship. The boy also looks relieved by Father Flynn’s death. Joyce, therefore, tries to show the gap that is present in the father-child relationship and how the father figure poorly relates to the child (p. 3-10). Dubliners has touched on the issue of fatherhood in some stories to emphasize the character traits of the fathers found in Dublin in the year 1904. The book, through its short stories reveals that there was one common factor amongst all the fathers in Dublin was, neglecting their children. In the story of Eveline, Eveline’s father does not seem to care for her despite being his only daughter. He denies her the affection that a child requires from her parent by abusing her, treating her differently from her brothers and denying her the opportunity to have a good life. The act of Eveline being treated differently, because she is a girl shows male chauvinism portrayed by fathers in Dublin. Brutality and arrogance is another attribute portrayed by the Eveline’s father. Eveline undergoes the wrath of her father in ways that are deemed uncivilized(p. 25-29). This indicates the kind of suffering that Joyce observed children going through in Dublin, showing that fathers never really loved their children. In After the Race, Joyce observers the matter of poor parenting from fathers. In the story, it is arguably evident that his father was absent in terms of not being there to guide him, because his primary focus was only to give his son a good lifestyle instead of being there as father. Joyce showed that poor parenting skills was present amongst fathers, and this affected their children (p. 30-35). In The Sisters, Joyce in one way or the other acknowledges the fact that, the boy, lacked his biological father around. This is evident because the boy used to look up to Father Flynn as a mentor. The boy is also constantly seen in the midst of his relatives, the aunts, and uncles. These stories bring out a common text of different fathers to emphasize that they all failed in their responsibilities as parents (p. 3-10). In Dubliners, James Joyce shows that the consequences of fathers who are both present and absent fall short of having anything positive. The negative effects are tremendous, and the children are sadly affected by this. One of the negative effects that the fathers have on their children is lowering the self-esteem of their children. In the case of Eveline, her father is manipulative and abusive towards her to the extent that she is not sure of what she wants in life. Instead of taking the better option of going with Frank her lover, she opts to stay behind in an abusive relationship with her father. She, therefore, lacks the self-drive to do what she wants because of fear. Jimmy in After the Race is viewed as a lazy person and unintelligent person, mainly because of the constant pampering from his father. Regardless of the fact that Jimmy is unremarkable in school, his father does not focus on helping him better his grades instead he takes him to other big schools and spoils his child with money. This causes Jimmy to be slothful, and he lacks the zeal to work hard in life. In the sisters, the boy lacks a father figure, and this leaves him to figure out complex life situations on his own despite being young (p. 30-35). Torture, a feeling of being neglected, emptiness and withdrawal are some of the other effects that the presence or absence of different fathers causes to their children in Dublin as observed by Joyce. One may also argue that Eveline, despite being harmed by the father, shows a sign of being strong willed because she is optimistic that her father will change, so she endures the pain. In conclusion, it is evident that Joyce shows how the father-child relationship is broken, and the people who have failed in this situation are the fathers. The characters above have been used to show how fathers not only lack to show affection and guidance to their children, but also fail to take up their responsibility of parenting. They portray ego-centrism and do what is deemed best for themselves. With this in mind it is fair enough to conclude that fathers in Dublin in the year 1904 neglected their responsibility, and this affected the children who looked up to them negatively as brought out by James Joyce in Dubliners. Work Cited Joyce, James. Dubliners. Oxford University Press, 2001. Read More