Ireland has a very conflicted history. Just when that history may seem to take a turn for the better, it seems that there is always another event to keep the trend of depression ongoing. The separation of the Protestant and Catholic Church would be the center of these events. However, the two different groups could potentially work together for the betterment of the nation. Through an analysis of why Protestants and Catholics split in the first place, disadvantages that Catholics would face in the coming years and also how these disadvantages were lifted, an argument will be developed in that there is perhaps the chance that they may end up working together in the future for the betterment of Ireland. Although these two groups would fight over the countless decades, they need to join into one entity if they wish to see a better future for Ireland.
Joyce’s portrayal of Dublin in Dubliners is certainly not one of praise or fanfare. Rather, Joyce’s Dublin is a slumbering and pathetic portrayal of a metropolis in which her citizens cannot exercise the ability to break free from the city’s frigid grasp. Therefore, the Dubliners struggle to carve out a distinct identity that contains meaningful aspects of human life. Somerville states that “Dublin has suffered a sickness of the heart,” an assentation that certainly captures the undertones of paralysis in Dubliners (Somerville 109). If it is indeed true that Dublin has lost her heart, she has also lost important emotional contexts that help sustain one’s livelihood. Without a heart, Dublin becomes a city “locked in place” with inadequate chances for forward progress from a socioeconomic perspective (Somerville 112). Yet, if Dublin’s heart is sick, it is only logical to assume that a “cure” is needed; the “cure” that the Dubliners seek, is money. As a result of Dublin’s paralysis and subsequent lack of basic societal values, Dublin’s citizens utilize money as a means of escaping the city in order to fully exercise their selfhood and free-will, which is compromised
...ed on the research above, I would say that the conflict occurring in Northern Ireland is about religion, but also about civil rights. In the book, it talked about how badly Catholics were treated. “Houses belonging to those of the wrong religion were torched,” (Conroy 1995). They were deprived of their dignity, and were forced to go back to the “ghetto” they left years ago. Those belonging to the Catholic religion were pretty much exiled for being Catholic. Their civil liberties were taken away and they were harassed most of the time. Religion plays a big part in this conflict, and being of one or the other cause conflicts and violent outbreaks. Each side is fighting for something and each side is seen as the enemy (logic of exclusion), and to make a point, they used force. Even today, the past still haunts Northern Ireland, and may never reach an absolute solution.
In the story Dubliners by James Joyce, he writes about a few different themes, some of these being autonomy, responsibility, light, and dark. The most important of the themes though must be the individual character in the story against the community and the way they see it. I have chosen to take a closer look at “Araby,” “Eveline,” and “The Dead” because the great display of these themes I feel is fascinating. Many things affect the way the individual characters see the community, for example their family, friends, fellow citizens, or even new places. In Dubliners, the way the characters see the community affects them and other people around them.
In “The Dead,” James Joyce presents the Irish as a people so overwhelmed with times past and people gone that they cannot count themselves among the living. Rather, their preoccupation with the past and lack of faith in the present ensures that they are more dead than they are alive. The story, which takes place at a holiday party, explores the paralyzed condition of the lifeless revelers in relation to the political and cultural stagnation of Ireland. Gabriel Conroy, the story’s main character, differs from his countrymen in that he recognizes the hold that the past has on Irish nationalists and tries to free himself from this living death by shedding his Gaelic roots and embracing Anglican thinking. However, he is not able to escape, and thus Joyce creates a juxtaposition between old and new, dead and alive, and Irish and Anglican within Gabriel. His struggle, as well as the broader struggle within Irish society of accommodating inevitable English influence with traditional Gaelic customs is perpetuated by symbols of snow and shadow, Gabriel’s relationship with his wife, and the epiphany that allows him to rise above it all in a profound and poignant dissertation on Ireland in the time of England.
Garrett, Peter K., ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Dubliners. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: 1968.
After the Act of union had been passed, Daniel O’Connell worked effectively in addressing Irish grievances; his actions were significant in contributing to the changing nature of the Irish question. Even though O’Connell tried to address the same issues as the society of united Irishmen, he abandoned the use of violence and instead took a constitutional approach such as the use of monster meetings and working alongside parliament in order to gain catholic emancipation and repeal of the union. O’Connell’s zeal for reform influenced parliament in passing the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829. Even though in the short term the Act had been insignificant in Ireland as the British government purposely reduced the Irish electorate by increasing qualifications from 40 shillings to £10 in an attempt to retain Protestant dominance, it was the prime cause for the d...
James Joyce was a boy born into religion and a man born into his own way of thinking. Joyce started his life in the category of influenced thinking which years later people are still able to relate to. He practically came out of the womb dressed as an alter boy equipped with a bible. “Ireland had known many centuries of economic and cultural impoverishment, political suppression, and religious conflict from the Middle Ages until Joyce's day, and these hardships were especially harsh for Irish Catholics.”(The Gale Group, 1996. pp. 160-181.) Agreeing with the quote mentioned it is obvious that Joyce’s town of Dublin lacked the opportunity to choose how to live your life. His family like most Irish Catholic homes threw religion on their children as a means of escape. To have faith and live accordingly, which would transpire into a joyous ending.
Joyce is a master of style, and readers can find a different one for each of his major works (Magill’s 1342). This excerpt from Magill’s is an excellent way to describe James Joyce’s writing because it is a true statement.Throughout many of his works he use many different themes to make his stories more interesting to the reader, and one of those is his use of institutions. Throughout Dubliners Joyce make many hints about views on religion, what he thinks about the world, and views about politics. These thoughts and views are found in three short stories found in Dubliners. The first story is “A Mother” which gives the reader a view of the musical world seen in Dublin (Magill’s 1343). I “A Mother” it talks about a man further named Mr. Holohan who is trying to organize a concert in Dublin which would feature a young well-...
James Joyce author of Dubliners, is a book which examines the everyday life of people who live in Dublin. In this intimate portrayal of Dubliners, Joyce writes short stories about the individuals in Irish society. In Dubliners many characters feel the pressure of society, and show their desires to escape. In the stories “Eveline”, “Counterparts” and “The Dead”, the themes of individuals v. society and journey through escape are present. In each story there is a powerful person present that controls a particular person or situation. In Dublin jobs are very important, since they control the social standing in their society. Dublin itself is a major issue to the characters in Dubliners; they wrestle with the ideas of being able to escape.
Throughout the nineteenth century Ireland experienced much change in many aspects of society. Politically, constitutionally and socially. The onset of the Great Famine in the middle of the century would define much of the Irish catholic thought towards British rule in Ireland. The Act of Union in 1801 became a catalyst for the political reform which would consume political thought in Ireland over the next 120 years. Throughout this essay I will critically assess the political movements and reforms in Ireland from the political movement and leadership of Daniel O Connell in the early years of the 1800s until the fall of Parnell at the conclusion of the century.
Included within the anthology The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction,1[1] are the works of great Irish authors written from around three hundred years ago, until as recently as the last decade. Since one might expect to find in an anthology such as this only expressions and interpretations of Irish or European places, events or peoples, some included material could be quite surprising in its contrasting content. One such inclusion comes from the novel Black Robe,2[2] by Irish-born author Brian Moore. Leaving Ireland as a young man afforded Moore a chance to see a great deal of the world and in reflection afforded him a great diversity of setting and theme in his writings. And while his Black Robe may express little of Ireland itself, it expresses much of Moore in his exploration into evolving concepts of morality, faith, righteousness and the ever-changing human heart.
The best thing said in this book is the parenthetical remark that James Joyce's The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is "a splendid if somewhat crabbed evocation of Irish Catholicism at the turn of the century" (167). If one interprets this passage as a suggestion to read Joyce for the purpose of gaining insight into Catholicism, it is excellent advice. Like Cunningham's book, it does not provide a definite and exhaustive overview of what is the church actually is, but unlike Cunningham, Joyce paints a vivid and powerful picture of something that has shape and life and that one may actually feel something about.
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.
The Catholic Church’s roles as a provider of many services all over Ireland provided for many families. The church was involved in the running of many institutions such as schools and hospitals. However, today it is indisputable that the status of what it once held has deteriorated because of the many falling vocations and the many abuse cases that have come to light in the past few years. What was once a strong community has been left betrayed by what was once seen as the pillar of society.