Dubliners Midway

So dubliners is a pretty great book so far. I also like how I can analyze this book more in-depth (Sorry Colbert, as much as I want too, it's pretty hard to find symbolism in "Disprove evolution in your own back yard!" without sounding like a film critic with a degree in philosophy).

 

One thing that is constant throughout the stories of dubliners is the loss of innocence. The first story, "The Sisters", as about a young boy who has to cope with the death of his friend. It should be noted that it seems as though this man is note meant to be all that nice. This is a constant theme throughout, as the loss of innocence appears in later stories, such as "Araby." which is about the conflict between the monotony of the norm and youthful fanntasy. This is best shown by this quote:

"We waited to see whether she would remain or go in and, if she remained, we left our shadow and walked up to Mangan's steps resignedly." (22)

This illustrates how the narrator, who is a young boy, is currently developing feelings for his friend's sisters. Considering that this is the third story of the collection, the first story starts with a young boy having to experience and older man dying, and the last story (which I've read), is about meditations on the idea of death. As such, it would make sense that these stories deal with the loss of innocence.

 

However, the BIG, steamy, hot, potato is the idea that the people of Dublin are trapped in a prison of frustration. This is shown in the story of "A Little Cloud," in which that character of Little Chandler thinks, "Every step brought him nearer to London , farther from his own sober inartistic life." (68) However, that same person is also unable to muster the courage to even share the poems with his wife, instead only reading them to himself. This theme is also present in "The Boarding House," which shows how a simple affair can become a game that can trap the people involved, and "Two Gallants," which centers around a character's wish to escape the cycle of "just scraping by." This is also present in "Araby"

 

 "What innumerable folies laid waste my waking and sleeping thoughts after that evening! I wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days. I chafed against the work of school. At night in my bedroom and by day in the classroom her image came between me and the page I strove to read." (24)

 

This quote shows how the narrator wants to escape the monotonous life. However, like all of the protagonists of the story of Dubliners, he is unable to. The fact that mundane things prevent him from getting an item from his friend's sister shows how there  is no room for escaping in the confines of depressing. 

 I really enjoy Joyce's writing style. His stream of conscious writing manages to put you there, and deliberatley create a sense of distance between the narrators and their worlds at the same time. Overall, I I am really enjoying this book, and can't wait to read more.