Scarica the dubliners- joyce e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! DUBLINERS - The Dead by James Joyce This last story represents the ending to all the other fourteen short stories present in the collection called DUBLINERS, published in 1914. This last story is considered a real literary masterpiece in which Joyce gives a perfect and compassionate view of the people of Dublin. “The Dead” describes at first the Christmas evening party held by aunt Julia and aunt Kate, who are Gabriel's two elderly aunts. Every year, these two old ladies organize a party during the Christmas holidays to which they invite all their friends and relatives. Inside the story, James Joyce shows a lot of different Irish characters, young and old, Catholics and Protestants, and during the party, he makes them debate on arguments such as Irish politics in relation to Britain and the need and importance for them to get politically involved and do something about it. The central character is Gabriel Conroy, who is nephew to the two old aunts, and Gretta, who is his wife. Gabriel is an intelligent and successful journalist and university teacher who desires to travel Europe (like Joyce himself did) and to take sides as regards the Irish problems with Britain, but he doesn't have the courage to expose himself and prefers to continue his usual life in Dublin, avoiding life challenges. This protagonist represents all the other Dubliners present in the previous 14 stories but, unlike the other characters who have only a partial self-knowledge of their failure, Gabriel is perfectly aware and conscious of it; he is what Joyce would have become if he had stayed in Dublin. Dublin is seen as a city paralysed by old traditions and by an obsolete culture, and the same is for its inhabitants who are completely paralysed and unable to any reaction. The story opens with the dinner party where there is much eating and drinking, a lot of speaking and singing, with a lot of traditional Irish music and a lot of meeting old friends with gaiety and where Gabriel makes an appreciated speech in front of all guests supported by the two old ladies who adore him. At the end of the long evening, Gretta hears an old Irish song which immediately reminds her of her past young lover, whom she had loved, called Michael Furey who used to sing to her that specific song and who had died for her love when he was only 17 years old. After the party, on the way back to the hotel room, Gretta in tears reveals to her husband her past love experience with Michael Furey and the way he had died for her. Gabriel is astonished and jealous and realises how little he knows about his wife. In the hotel room, Gretta finally falls asleep after the
