The Dead versus The Living

“The Dead” is the last story in the collection of short stories in the book ‘Dubliners’ by James Joyce. The story takes place over the course of a night, more specifically, during an annual dinner party hosted by the three Misses Morkans. The story centers around the Morkan’s favorite nephew Gabriel Conroy and his social interaction and insecurities.

Joyce explores a number of themes in “The Dead”- like class distinction, the Irish nationality, betrayal, paralysis etc—however, the main theme is one that explores the question of mortality and the relationship between the living and the dead and therefore the past and the present.

One can say that in “The Dead” the relationship between the living and the dead is analogous to the two sides of a coin, or to put it in a slightly different way, its an intimate relationship in the sense that it is very fluid—and reversible. The difference between the living and the dead is life and the lack of life, however, if one were to go deeper into that difference, death can also be seen as paralysis—whereas life is characterized by constant change. This is why the relationship between the dead and the living is reversible in the story, because the characters are in a state of paralysis in the book (which is also one of the themes that Joyce explores). The Morkans host the same dinner party every year, where the same people come, where Freddie Malins always comes under influence—the characters are stuck in a rut of inaction and numbness where nothing ever changes- and so though they are not literally dead, the inaction in their life is as close to dying without the actual act of death. On the other hand, the dead in the story—Michael Furey, Mrs. Conroy’s past romantic interest, lives through her memory of him. In fact, in a epiphany, Gabriel Conroy comes to the rather painful realization that Michael Furey had been more alive than he ever was because, “he [Gabriel] had never felt like that himself towards any woman, but he knew that such a feeling must be love” and hence it was “better  [to] pass boldly into that other world, in full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age” (Joyce, 152). The idea behind this realization is that life is short and its even shorter when one thinks about the dangers of falling into a rut.

Joyce was able to explore this theme very well, due to the fact that the story was written in third person narrative. So, though majority of the story focused on Gabriel Conroy, Joyce was still able to step away from the protagonist—for example, the story begins with Lilly (the help), “Lilly the caretakers daughter, was literally run off her feet,” (Joyce, 119)— for long enough so that the reader could read between the lines and explore the theme himself.

Therefore what I took from my reading of “The Dead” was that the technique one uses (first, second or third person) has a strong influence on the narrative, and on translating the idea or the theme behind the piece for the reader.

-Smriti Bansal

Works Cited

Joyce, James. "The Dead." Dubliners. New York: Dover Publications, n.d. 119-52. Print.

The Cleansing of Death

There will always be concepts universal to humankind—among them, and often most prominently in discussion of literary themes that parallel the real world, are the ideas of death and love. Within both of these concepts, there are subsections and varied perceptions of what they mean, and in some instances, they cross over in order to give the other a certain depth they couldn’t tackle without being supported. In James Joyce’s “The Dead,” published as one part of a collection under the title of Dubliners in 1914, such themes are expressed overtly through the protagonist, Gabriel, and his wistful wife, Gretta.

 

Death, obviously, plays a large role in the end of the story: Gretta, hung up on her childhood friend, has helped his memory survive in a way his body could not be sustained. Gabriel considers the possibility, then, that it is “better [to] pass boldly into that other world” (194), as someone who fell in their prime, rather than to lose one’s glory with age and be remembered for the way they left than the way they lived.  Gabriel notices his own faults especially well when compared to Michael—not because Michael was necessarily a better person than Gabriel, but rather, because Gabriel suddenly and violently feels inferior to someone who has long since passed.

 

Because Michael died young, Gretta’s memories of him are both nostalgic and biased: to the average person, it feels wrong to disrespect the ghost, as it were, of someone who is now deceased by dwelling on their faults; and from a less active standpoint, Michael had less time to make mistakes. Even in the short timeframe we see in “The Dead,” Gabriel is nigh-constantly awkward, fumbling through conversation and inadvertently offending people. He’s not a bad person, and is in fact well-liked by his family, but Gabriel, by the very virtue of living, is bound to falter in ways that Michael cannot.

 

In this way, it seems as though it’s better to die young and glorious rather than to live out your life—but at the same time, while Gabriel thinks this, fairly, with basis, the fact that he is alive to have this epiphany means that he has the chance to use it and apply it to himself for the sake of growth. It worries Gabriel that he doesn’t know his wife as well as he could, despite years of marriage, but the knowledge of a person, as well as the love of one, is a two-way street: he has to give her the chance to open up about what is clearly a sore, though significant topic for her, and she has to learn to treat him with the sensitive care he apparently requires, without letting him feel as though he’s being compared to someone she may not have even loved romantically.

 

All in all, I feel as though Joyce does an excellent job of expressing the paranoia of an insecure individual in a committed relationship through the lens of comparison and death, as well as the bigger picture of the way death forces us to reconsider relationships and the way we view people. I, personally, would love to be able to explore the nuances of characterization and uncertainty, because it’s a difficult, though universal emotion, that can seep down into the deepest roots of a character, and I think noting the way Joyce has used it is a good lesson to take away.

The Dead

“The Dead,” a short story in James Joyce’s collection called Dubliners, is an Irish story about a man who’s class has left him classless and in fear of death and the effects of the past on the present. The story is set at a Christmas dinner at the home of Kate and Julia Morkan and their niece Mary Jane Morkan. It is an annual dinner where, much like everything else in Ireland, seems to only get more and more repetitive and droll. The same people are in attendance at the party and the same events occur. The “always-drunk” Freddy Malins is already drunk when he arrives, the same guests are in attendance, there is a dinner, and then a return home. Seemingly, the only difference is that the hostesses favorite nephew, Gabriel, is feeling more and more out of place and resentful of his homeland.

            At first, after inferring that the maid, Lily, should get married soon, Gabriel gives her a holiday tip instead of an apology when she reacts negatively to his discussion of her love life. Then, once the usual dancing begins, Gabriel is paired up with Mrs. Ivors, who is in his same profession, but proceeds to get into an argument with her after she chastises him for his lack of patriotism and burst out proclaiming that he is sick of his country. Following his rash declaration, Gabriel takes his place at the head of the table, cuts the meat, and makes his speech (as usual) and proceeds to compliment his aunts on their admirable hostess skills and talks of how such skills are no longer appreciated the way they once were both the dead and the past are gone and we must focus on the present.

            This, however, was a contradiction in and of itself. Gabriel urged his friends and family to focus on the present but in the same breath complimented the past over the present by saying that his hostesses would have been appreciated and valued far more in the past than they do today. Gabriel’s wife, Gretta, brings him back into the past when she reveals that an old lover of hers, Michael Furey, died in the snow while waiting outside of her window. This is when one truly discovers how much of an outsider Gabriel is and how, at heart, he needs a sense of control over his surroundings more than anything, but it is his need for control that has made me grow to hate his own country. He hates the predictability and the mundaneness of life, but he needs it in order to have control over others and his surroundings. Gabriel is turned off by Gretta’s story of her old lover because it brought to light the fact that he was not the only man she would cry over, he could not control her feelings, and that he had never loved anyone the way that young Michael loved Gretta. Also, it brings back in the idea of the connection between the dead and the past with the present. Michael died waiting for Gretta outside in the cold, and him, as well as the rest of the dead, laid as buried under the snow as the living were (thereby bridging the connection between the past and the present). The moral of the story is that one cannot hold onto only the past, as Gretta did, or only the present, as Gabriel tried to do. Past events and people are the foundations for the present and they cannot and should not be forgotten or left behind.

Consuming "The Dead"

James Joyce's Short story collection Dubliners is the quintessential Irish collection. The collection, originally published in 1914, uses the modernist method of portraying many different angles to get to the core truth of the city in decline, Dublin. One of these stories, "The Dead", is one of the most extensively remarked upon short stories in the English language. "The Dead" focuses in on a party thrown by two musically-talented sisters, and more specifically on Gabriel, their favorite nephew. The central scene of the story is set around a dinner table. Joyce uses the dinner scene at large, and more specifically the food itself, to show the reader gender dynamics of the time.



Not just the actions around the food are gendered, but the food itself. The table is set in opposing sides: the goose, carved by a man, is at the head, while the ham, all dressed up with a “neat paper frill round it’s shin” (196) is on the other. The side dishes range between, presented in pairs. Of these, the most notable are the dishes described as “companion[s]” (196): the almond/raisin mix and the figs. There are few more explicit anatomical allusions to gendered food as a bowl of nuts and the vaginally-symbolic fig. Joyce describes the table in gendered terms in order to set the reader up to recognize the gendered roles occurring around the table




These gender roles play themselves out in various ways around the table. The dinner cannot start while Gabriel is in the hall arguing with Miss Ivors because “ There’s everyone waiting in there, stage to let and nobody to carve the goose!”(196) In fact, there are many people who could feasibly carve the goose, including the hostesses, but only the dominant male is actually allowed the honor of carving the main dish. The lesser dishes, ham and beef and side dishes, can be delegated to the women, however. All of the food, save the goose, is served by women during the scene. Later, after everyone is served, Aunt Kate and Aunt Julia are still waiting on people and the men take it into their own hands to set the women down at once. Not only were the men in the room begging the feeble women to seat themselves and begin eating, but Freddy Malins physically sat down Aunt Kate. Meanwhile, Gabriel is still serving to no one’s chagrin, because he is a man and therefore does not need watching after. The way that dinner is served seems to reinforce the male role of provider and protector and shows the women as simultaneously the responsible parties for the meal and the ones that need protecting.




It is difficult to set a dinner scene, especially in the early 20th century, without subtly commenting on gender dynamics. Joyce deals with this inevitability by highlighting these dynamics to a higher degree. I appreciate the attention to detail that Joyce shows, and can use this highlighting technique in different ways to draw out themes other tan gender dynamics in the future.

The Living Live On With the Dead

“The Dead” Blog Post

The story "The Dead" in the novel Dubliners, by James Joyce, reviews in a poignant way how the living and the dead are not separated, and must live on with the dead. Gabriel realizes the dead are apart of his life, and the life of those around him, which is accomplished by the narrator, which gravitates to the voice of the character and does not explicitly tell the reader what to think; epiphanies are for the reader to find for himself.

In narrating the ironies, primarily shown through Gabriel, of living with the presence of the dead, Joyce uses a technique called "free indirect discourse," which is narration in the third person, but containing the biases and the style of narrating in the first person (Evans). This style allows Joyce to connect the reader with the character, and make the ironies of the story clear without explicitly saying so. For example, in the beginning of the story, it says: "Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, was literally run off her feet” (Joyce 151). Lily was not run off her feet, but if Lily were to describe her present situation, those are the words she would use. Taking this into mind, Lily is first described as the caretaker’s daughter. To me, this reflects a lack of identity and importance Lily feels, who only identifies herself as her mother’s daughter. This style of narration gives us great insight into the type of person Lily is.

But, this technique is used in greater irony of Gabriel. A hilarious encounter in the beginning of the novel occurs when Lily is greeting Gabriel at the door, and he makes a careless remark (as if he knows everything) suggesting Lily should get married soon. Lily responds by saying, “The men that is now is only all palaver and what they can get out of you” (Joyce 154). Gabriel feels mighty awkward and “took a coin rapidly from his pocket” (Joyce 154). From this, we can see the supercilious condescension Gabriel feels towards pretty much everyone in the room, but he wants to keep up his appearance. He is superficial, self-righteous, and insecure. He feels very awkward at this encounter, and can only respond by giving Lily money. We will see later that Gabriel uses money many times to quell his insecurities.

The greatest irony is when Gabriel says in his speech, “still cherish in our hearts the memory of those dead and gone great ones whose fame the world will not willingly let die…were we to brood upon them always we could not find the heart to go on bravely with our work among the living” (Joyce 177). Gabriel predicts his own demise in his speech; one can only wonder what Gretta is thinking at this point. But, the narrator does not make many observations, except for those of positive encouragement or expressions of mirth at his words, because Gabriel is too focused upon himself. He sees this speech as a duty, and is wholly focused on it. Ironically, Gabriel does not realize how much of his own life and that of his wife is affected by “the dead.” He says, we should cherish the memories of the dead, but ultimately move on. Later, in the story he finds out that his wife has been comparing him to another man the entire marriage, and her entire life. He is the one who has to move on.

Gabriel’s ultimate epiphany is when his wife recalls her memory of Michael Furey, and how he “did not want to live” (Joyce 192). Gretta cries and falls asleep, while Gabriel muses. He realizes that he never felt “that towards any woman but he knew that such a feeling must be love” (194). He has never felt love at all. And, Gabriel was not Gretta’s first love either. All of a sudden, his peaceful and dull life is “livened” by the appearance of somebody from the dead. This experience is pivotal to the theme of how we must all accept the influence of the dead among the living. The dead are apart of his life.

Works Cited

Evans, Val. "Writer's Notebook." Writers Notebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.

Joyce, James, and Margot Norris. Dubliners: Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.

Death: Our Universal Heritage

Death is one of the few things all humans have in common. And yet, just as we are all biologically different, we all seem to have a different perception of death, and its inevitability seems to hang over us in multiple ways. James Joyce sheds an interesting light on death in his short story “The Dead,” one of several pieces in his book Dubliners, published in 1914. 

Joyce unexpectedly uses the much-cherished and lighthearted event of a Christmas dinner, wealthy in Irish custom and tradition, as a sharp contrast to the morbid and brooding remembrance of “the dead.” I found it interesting how Joyce seemed to sprinkle the concept of death throughout his piece, going from low intensity to high as the story line progressed. Death doesn’t become a commitment to Joyce’s work until more than halfway through the plot. The first mention of the deceased is a fleeting one; as part of a background character description, the brother of the two women hosting the dinner is said to have passed away quite a while ago. Later on, over carved goose and ham, the dinner guests engage in conversation of musicians of times past, reveling in their glory, and plaintively observing that such remarkable artists are not as prevalent in their present time. 

The most striking portrayal of death, however, is disclosed near the story’s very end. Gabriel, the main character, notices at the dinner party that his wife, Gretta, is left in a mysterious, deep stupor after another dinner guest showcases the melodies of The Lass of Aughrim, a song that we later learn reminds Gretta of a childhood sweetheart who used to sing it to her, but died of a disease that could have been tuberculosis at the age of seventeen. We see that Joyce has again juxtaposed the image of death to a livelier subject, this time the warmth of love. 

The author leaves his audience with a memorable ending line: “[Gabriel’s] soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead” (Joyce 194). I’m sure many could relate to this type of pondering wonder concerning the finality of the end, especially when thinking of one’s own. Gabriel does this, thinking that “the time had come for him to set out on his journey westward,” ‘westward’ here meaning towards death (194). To be honest I scarcely think of death, the non-ceasing onslaught of events, deadlines, dreams, and relationships in my life keeping me immortally occupied, stressed, in pursuit, and ambivalent, or so it seems to me. But when I think of those who have already gone, especially those much younger than me, I am forced to realize that I must never forget to step back from all the broo-haha of life, and see to it that what I have lived is deep and satisfying enough to take with me into the afterlife, because, as Joyce reminds me, I could go at any moment.

The singular element of Joyce’s contrast between opposite themes is one I might find useful in my own writing. Though in this response I did center my attention on his theme of death, he did beautifully incorporate many other themes in his work, including the discrepancy between members of the higher classes and those of the lower classes who have moved into higher spheres, the concept of the “self” insofar as origin is concerned, and the worry of the degeneration of values as new generations emerge, among other splendidly woven ideas. Joyce successfully submerges his readers in a world of higher thought, all in the span of one documented day.

This Week's Literary Events

If you have some extra time this week, you might want to check out some of these readings.  Remember, you're required to go to two readings during the semester and write a short review of each on this blog, so this is a good opportunity to get one or both of those done.  If you're planning to go to any of these, feel free to leave a comment, and perhaps a few of you can go together.

Timothy Donnelly at BookEnds
25 February, 6pm,  SCPS Student Lounge, 7 East 12th Street, 5th Floor. Free.
The first BookEnds event of the upcoming semester will feature the poet Timothy Donnelly.  Please join us on Monday, February 25, in the 5th floor Student Lounge of 7 E. 12th St.  We will gather at 6 pm for refreshments and conversation, and the reading and discussion will begin at 6:30.  Please see the attached flyer for more information, and feel free to distribute it to interested students, colleagues, and friends.  RSVPs are very helpful for planning the room setup and ordering an appropriate amount of food, but drop-ins are also welcome.  I hope you will be able to join us for an evening of excellent poetry and conversation!  To RSVP, or if you have any questions, contact Program Coordinator, Michael Collins at mpc3@nyu.edu, or Spring Curator, Corey Spencer at coreyseneca@gmail.com.

Organic Open Mic by Inspired Word 
Every Tuesday, 7pm, Bareburger 2nd Floor, 85 Second Avenue (@ 5th Street). $10.
Looking for special - and very unique - open mic in downtown Manhattan, with wall-to-wall people and great energy? Swing by the Organic Open Mic at the gorgeous Bareburger organic restaurant in the East Village - the home of some of the best tasting food on the planet.  Produced by the long-running Inspired Word open mic series, which has featured Grammy winners, American Idol finalists, Golden Globe Award winners, Emmy nominated actors, and HBO Def Poetry stars, this open mic is open to ALL types of performing artists - comedians, musicians, storytellers, singers, poets, fiction/nonfiction writers, playwrights, spoken word artists, performance artists, dancers. The event takes place on the second floor, with full-length windows on all sides that offers an especially beautiful view.

Perfect Sense Reading SeriesFebruary 27, 2013 - Cornelia St. Cafe (29 Cornelia St., Manhattan)

Long-running series at long-running poetry venue featuring Timothy Donnelly, Melissa Fadul, Chloe Yelena Miller, Danniel Schoonebeek, and Leah Umansky.

Gallatin Poets: Emily Fragos, Jean Gallagher, Scott Hightower, and Idra Novey

Wednesday, February 27, 6pm, NYU Bookstore (726 Broadway)
Emily Fragos's latest book is "Hostage: New & Selected Poems" (Sheep Meadow, 2011). Jean Gallagher's titles include "This Minute" and "Stubborn" (Oberlin College Press, 2006). "Self-evident," Scott Hightower's fourth poetry book, is new from Barrow Street Press. Idra Novey's most recent collection, "Exit, Civilian" (University of Georgia Press, 2012) was a 2011 National Poetry Series Selection. Introduced by Soren Stockman.

“Zoetrope: All-Story” Presents
Thursday, February 28, 7pm, 58 West 10th St., Free 
An evening with contributors to the National Magazine Award–winning quarterly published by Francis Ford Coppola: Pinckney Benedict, Kathryn Harrison, and David Means. Hosted by founding editor Adrienne Brodeur. Co-sponsored with “Zoetrope: All-Story.”

Happy Hour Reading: Nicholas Christopher, David Shields, and Terese Svoboda
Friday, March 1, 5pm, 58 West 10th St., Free  
 Poet and novelist Nicholas Christopher’s novel “Tiger Rag” is new from Dial Press. David Shields reads from his new nonfiction title “How Literature Saved My Life” (Knopf, February 2013). Fiction writer and poet Terese Svoboda’s novel “Tin God” will be reissued by University of Nebraska Press/Bison Books in April. The Happy Hour series features readings and refreshments on select Fridays at 5pm; Friday’s readers will be introduced by Uri Ferruccio, Jacob Dawson, and Rafael Roa.