Class Distinctions and Internal Struggle in the Works of James Joyce
In the early twentieth century, Ireland, and more specifically Dublin, was a place defined by class distinctions. There were the wealthy, worldly upper-class who owned large, stately townhouses in the luxurious neighborhoods and the less fortunate, uneducated poor who lived in any shack they could afford in the middle of the city. For the most part, the affluent class was Protestant, while the struggling workers were overwhelmingly Catholic. These distinctions were the result of nearly a century of disparity in income, education, language, and occupation, and in turn were the fundamental bases for the internal struggle that many of Joyce's characters feel. Torn between the life they lead and the one they dream of, these people are reflections of the harsh setting in which Joyce himself spent his life. Although Joyce never explicitly explains why his main characters in "A Little Cloud," "Eveline," "Counterparts," and "The Boarding House" are so deprived, it is clear that they are at an unfair disadvantage in some way. He uses them to spotlight and protest the hardships that so many people of Dublin were forced to endure simply because of their religion and its effects on the other aspects of their lives.
The Irish-Catholics of Dublin in this era were overwhelmingly poverty-stricken, especially when compared to the English people who controlled the government and businesses. In fact, in 1914, the same year that Dubliners was first published, "74,000 people in Dublin lived in one-room tenements, and about 56,000 more in two-room tenements; and this 130,000 people represented 42 per cent of Dublin's citizens" (Cahalan 178). Even a noted employe...
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celebrity may be found in the words of one of America’s Founding Fathers, John Adams, who wrote, ‘‘The rewards . . . in this life are steem and admiration of others—the punishments are neglect and contempt. The desire of the esteem of others is as real a want of nature as hunger—and the neglect and contempt of the world as severe as a pain.” (Price, 463). The author suggests that fame is not at all w...
Seventh ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &, 2008. 985-93. Print. 1866 to the Present.
In Joyce’s stories “Eveline”, “Counterparts” and the “Dead”, the theme of escape and responsibility is represented by the characters desire to flee their lives. These stories symbolize Joyce’s interpretation of life in Ireland. With careful analysis it can be inferred that the miserable situations portrayed in these stories can be directly tied into how readers may view life in Ireland. Like the characters in Dubliners people desired a better life for themselves in and out of Ireland. The themes common to these stories show an appreciation to opportunity and success in the world. The themes of escape and responsibility present in a readers mind a looking glass for viewing life and society.
A collection of short stories published in 1907, Dubliners, by James Joyce, revolves around the everyday lives of ordinary citizens in Dublin, Ireland (Freidrich 166). According to Joyce himself, his intention was to "write a chapter of the moral history of [his] country and [he] chose Dublin for the scene because the city seemed to [b]e the centre of paralysis" (Friedrich 166). True to his goal, each of the fifteen stories are tales of disappointment, darkness, captivity, frustration, and flaw. The book is divided into four sections: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life (Levin 159). The structure of the book shows that gradually, citizens become trapped in Dublin society (Stone 140). The stories portray Joyce's feeling that Dublin is the epitome of paralysis and all of the citizens are victims (Levin 159). Although each story from Dubliners is a unique and separate depiction, they all have similarities with each other. In addition, because the first three stories -- The Sisters, An Encounter, and Araby parallel each other in many ways, they can be seen as a set in and of themselves. The purpose of this essay is to explore one particular similarity in order to prove that the childhood stories can be seen as specific section of Dubliners. By examining the characters of Father Flynn in The Sisters, Father Butler in An Encounter, and Mangan's sister in Araby, I will demonstrate that the idea of being held captive by religion is felt by the protagonist of each story. In this paper, I argue that because religion played such a significant role in the lives of the middle class, it was something that many citizens felt was suffocating and from which it was impossible to get away. Each of the three childhood stories uses religion to keep the protagonist captive. In The Sisters, Father Flynn plays an important role in making the narrator feel like a prisoner. Mr. Cotter's comment that "… a young lad [should] run about and play with young lads of his own age…" suggests that the narrator has spent a great deal of time with the priest. Even in death, the boy can not free himself from the presence of Father Flynn (Stone 169) as is illustrated in the following passage: "But the grey face still followed me. It murmured; and I understood that it desired to confess something.
Ireland is described as, “Poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying schoolmasters; the English and the terrible things they did to us for eight hundred long year” (9). The family lived in poor and life threatening conditions. Eleven families shared one lavatory which was closest to the McCourt family door. The lavatory is never cleaned and can kill them from all the diseases (112-113). Although the conditions were bad they couldn’t move it was the cheapest and most affordable place they could find for six shillings a week.
We are prisoners to our perception. It is a common saying that things are not always as they seem .This philosophy is abundantly true when it comes to the subject of fame, celebrity, furtune and impact. The way we see things is responsible for the set up of our individual ideologies.”Evidence “by Kathryn Schultz refers to ideology as a “conceptual framework” (Schultz, page 373).We see fame as the greatest achievement that one could accomplish in their lifetime. We idolize and fantasize how the wealthy are free of the burdens of life and that they are faced with little to no misfortunes. As pointed out several times throughout this writing, this is a counterfactual way of looking at fame. Schulz’s essay further states that “to exist, to deal with reality, we need a conceptual framework; theories that tell us which questions to ask and which to not, where to look and where not to bother.”(Schulz, page 373).This quote relates to the subject matter because I also feel that individuals tend to overlook the cons of fame and focus too much of the glitz and glamour associated with fame.Basically,some people see what they want to see and ignore what they don't want to accept and
James Joyce is widely considered to be one of the best authors of the 20th century. One of James Joyce’s most celebrated short stories is “Eveline.” This short story explores the theme of order and hazard and takes a critical look at life in Dublin, Ireland in the early 20th century. Furthermore, the themes that underlie “Eveline” were not only relevant for the time the story was wrote in, but are just as relevant today.
In Dubliners, James Joyce tells short stories of individuals struggling with life, in the city of Dublin. “It is a long road that has no turning” (Irish Proverb). Many individuals fight the battle and continue on the road. However, some give up and get left behind. Those who continue to fight the battle, often deal with constant struggle and suffering. A reoccurring theme, in which Joyce places strong emphasis on, is the constant struggle of fulfilling responsibilities. These responsibilities include; work, family and social expectations. Joyce writes about these themes because characters often feel trapped and yearn to escape from these responsibilities. In “The Little Cloud”, “Counterparts”, and “The Dead” characters are often trapped in unhappy living situations, often leading to a desire of escape from reality and daily responsibilities.
The fame that comes from being a celebrity or entrepreneur does not render them immune from ridicule, speculations, loneliness, or exploit. Those chasing the American Dream may see this end goal of becoming wealthy enough for all of their problems to disappear, but this ...
Religion in James Joyce's Dubliners Religion was an integral part of Ireland during the modernist period, tightly woven into the social fabric of its citizens. The Catholic Church was a longstanding tradition of Ireland. In the modernist spirit of breaking away from forces that inhibited growth, the church stood as one of the principal barriers. This is because the Catholic faith acted as the governing force of its people, as portrayed in James Joyce’s Dubliners. In a period when Ireland was trying to legitimize their political system, religious affiliations further disillusioned the political process. The governing body of a people needs to provide a behavioral framework, through its constitution, and a legal process to make delegations on issues of equity and fairness. When religion dominates the government that is in tact, it subjects its citizens to their religious doctrines. In terms of Catholicism in Ireland, this meant that social progress and cultural revolutions were in terms of what the church would allow. The modernist realized that this is what paralyzed the Irish society of the times. In the stories of Dubliners the legal system is replaced by the institute of religion, and it is the presence and social context of the Catholic Church which prevents the Irish community from advancement. ...
McCann et al. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994, 95-109).
The setting of the story plays a very important role. The story takes place in the winter, traditionally considered to be a time of darkness and nature’s slumber. The location is Dublin, under English rule at the time the story takes place. In his opening sentence, Joyce offers a view of North Richmond Street, described as a “blind” street. The symbolism of the “dead-end” street seems purposeful, and is quite effective, particularly as the story progresses. The description of the house the protagonist lives in provides the reader with the information that the family’s finances are lower-middle-class. This element plays an important part, as conflicts are introduced.