"DUBLINERS"

Question 1

“DUBLINERS” STRUCTURE

Answer 1

It is a composition of 15 short stories about the middle class’ life ( ordinary people) in Dublin, the lives of 15 typical inhabitants but also represents an ideal of the Irish capital at the beginning of the 20th century.

He compares the people with ghosts because of their lack of spirit caused by the extreme rigor of Irish education which is very close to Catholic morality.

The stories can be divided into three main groups, each one has a particular theme.

1st group – childhood, disillusionment and failure.

2nd group – adulthood
f.e “Eveline” that tells about a man’s impossibility to escape from suffering, the passivity of Irish people and the paralysis of their will.

3rd group – sterile relationship between Irish and Dublin, more specifically its politics, the musical world and the Church.

The most important story of his career was “The Death” because it is considered a summary but also the climax of The Dubliners.

Question 2

THE CONCEPT OF PARALYSIS

Answer 2

It is both spiritual and physical
spiritual: because it references the incapacity to do anything to solve a problem
physical: the stillness caused by external factors

Question 3

THE CONCEPT OF EPIPHANY

Answer 3

The characters have an epiphany - “the sudden spiritual manifestation - by a gesture, an object, a situation. But they can’t do anything about it.

For example Gabriel realises that his life is a failure

The idea of paralysis, in The death, is represented by the snow.

Question 4

JOYCE’S TECHNIQUE

Answer 4

• Joyce changes the perspective of the story. The story is told by one character through his point of view.
• the free indirect speech: the protagonist’s feelings are expressed directly with limited intervention of the narrator
• the free direct speech: used so that the reader can analyse the character’s mind
• the linguistic register is varied
• the description is realistic and concise

-the use of realism is mixed with symbolism ( for example snow )

Question 5

THE DEATH

Answer 5

The Death — She Was fast asleep
The Death is the last story of the last part of “ The Dubliners”
It is one of the longest and most difficult episodes.

The death tells about Gabriel’s epiphany — Joyce chose the word “epiphany” because in religion it’s the moment when divinity appears.

After a party which made him realise something that is going to change his life forever: his marriage and his life is a failure — he has lived a superficial life, never really understood his wife and failed in social relations — but there’s nothing he can do about it because he’s like paralyzed.