Dubliners

After completing all 15 short stories of James Joyce's "Dubliners" I feel like I have a personal connection with the people of this city and even the city itself. For the most part, the subjects of Joyce's stories are the lower class of the city that one would probably not meet or see if they were to be visiting. He writes of the people who call Dublin home, both reluctantly or happily. These people are all very different, yet are connected together with this common thread of their place in society and (for many characters) a longing to leave Dublin all together. 

From reading this collection you get the a strong feeling of bitterness towards Dublin from Joyce. Most of the characters can only be categorized as low-lives such as Lenehan and Corley from "Two Gallants" or pathetic such as Mr. Kernan in "Grace" and Mrs. Sinico in "A Painful Case." Alcoholism is a major theme throughout the stories and many places in Dublin are constantly painted as dirty, old, dilapidated or (my personal favorite) musty. Dublin seems to give off more of a vibe of a small town where everyone knows each others business rather than the large city that it is. In all the stories it seems that everyone knows everyone and not many strangers are encountered. If someone does come upon a stranger it is a major point in the story as in "An Encounter." 

There are two stories that exemplify this longing to leave the city, however they are represented entirely differently. In "A Little Cloud" the main character, Little Chandler, goes to meet an old friend named Gallaher who he has not seen in many years. Gallaher has apparently done very well for himself since he last saw Chandler and he is obviously jealous of his old friend's good fortune as the story progresses. Gallaher is a perfect example of what many of the characters in "Dubliners" strive to become. He is wealthy since having left Dublin and has no regrets about leaving. In fact, in his conversation with Chandler he is somewhat condescending towards the city calling it "dear dirty Dublin" in a very tongue in cheek manner. 

As their conversation progresses and the two share quite a few drinks Chandler, all subtlety aside, "looked at his friend enviously." The two talk of Chandler's family and Gallaher continually states how he would never get married and if somehow he did, he would only marry for money. Chandler, who is married with a baby son really does not say much in defense of marriage. The two end their conversation with Gallaher talking about the unfortunate possibility of being with one woman the rest of your life. His final comment on the matter is, "Must get a bit stale, I should think."  Chandler goes home presumably contemplating his life with his wife and his entire life in Dublin. He goes to hold his son who is crying and his wife starts yelling at him blaming him for the baby's crying. The story ends with Chandler's eyes filling with "tears of remorse." This can be remorse for causing the baby to cry or remorse for not getting out of Dublin and making something of himself as Gallaher did. 

The next story that shows this longing to leave to Dublin is in "Eveline." However the longing to leave Dublin is made more complicated as it shows Dublin to be this place that is so hard to leave, yet so hard to stay. The girl's life in Dublin was not going well at all. Most of her family has died and her father is a drunk whom she fears will beat her. She is able to leave to go to Buenos Ayres with a sailor named Frank yet at the last moment on the docks she decides not to go and as Frank calls after her to come on the boat she just stares at him as, "Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition." 

This "paralysis" that happens to Eveline is another common theme in throughout "Dubliners." The word appears on the first page of "The Sisters" as the feeling the young narrator has at the reaction to the death of Father Flynn. Paralysis may even be used to describe what happens to the young main character in "Araby." The narrator is another character who longs for something outside of Dublin. He decides to go the exotic, Eastern bazaar known as Araby because he promised a girl he is infatuated with that he will buy her something. He arrives at the bazaar with little money in his pocket at a time when most of the shops are closing. He realizes he doesn't have enough money to buy anything and becomes angry with himself that he let greed and sexual urges towards his crush to consume his actions on the day. He is in a state of paralysis as he gazes "up into the darkness" of the bazaar. However, before this paralysis he is just another Dubliner longing for something different outside the realm of Dublin.