The Dead- Response

Jack Breene

Creative Writing

The Dead- Response

            Like many of the stories in James Joyce’s Dubliners, The Dead tells the story of a bitter realization. In this case, the main character Gabriel realizes just how out of place he is in his world.

            From the moment Gabriel enters the party, we see how out of touch he is with everyone around him. In addition to being somewhat of an intellectual in a world of simple folk, Gabriel also lacks social skills. This combination makes Gabriel a clear outsider and even gets him into a few very awkward situations. More specifically, Gabriel’s personality makes him contrived to practically everyone in attendance.

            The first time we see Gabriel feeling out of place is during a conversation he has was one of the maids, Lily. What starts as an innocent conversation about weather and school, turns to an awkward moment between the two when Gabriel hits one of Lily’s nerves by assuming that she will be married relatively soon. When Lily responds negatively to this assumption, implying that she doesn’t have a potential husband lined up yet, Gabriel and the reader are left confused. While both realize that they have made a mistake, neither is quite sure why or how. Through this interaction, James subtly hints to the reader that Gabriel is as much an outsider as his audience is, even though he is an actual member of the community.

            Another instance of Gabriel not belonging at this gather is during his discussion with Mrs. Molly Ivors. The discussion quickly turns into a disagreement when Mrs. Ivors mentions her disapproval of Gabriel’s side job, an book critic. While Gabriel sees nothing wrong with this profession, which he considers more of a hobby than a job considering how much he gets paid, it causes Ivors along with other guests to refer to him as a West Briton.  For Gabriel, being called a West Briton, an Irish colloquialism for an Irish who acts British in terms of their tastes in culture, is like being called bourgy. Gabriel is shunned again, this time for his intellectualism. However, in both cases he can’t understand what he has done to deserve such treatment.

            In both cases, Gabriel only makes things worse when he tries to make amends to the people he has offended. He offers money to Lily and he vocalizes his faith in Irish culture is his toast, but in both cases, he comes off as pretentious and condescending.

            Gabriel’s situation reaches a head when he truly realizes that he isn’t even significant in his wife’s life, spurred by her reminiscing about a gentle boy she knew in her younger days. The fact that there was so much about her that he didn’t even know about makes Gabriel truly realize how out of place and alone he is in Dublin.