The Dead, one of the fifteen short stories collected in the book Dubliners written by James Joyce, is about a Christmas party, hosted by two aunts, Aunt Julia and Aunt Kate, who welcome their favorite nephew Gabriel Conroy and his wife, Gretta. When they arrive at the party, Gabriel remarks that Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, has grown into an attractive young woman, and it is time for her to marry a man. But Lily retorts back with disgust. His aunts talk with Gabriel for a while, teasing him about his preference for galoshes, a fashion trend from continental Europe. When the dance starts, Gabriel is paired with his colleague Miss Ivors, who reprimands him for his anti-nationalism, such as Gabriel going to other countries and wearing galoshes. Miss Ivors called Gabriel a West Briton, an Irishman that sympathizes with Britain. Miss Ivors is angry at Gabriel because he doesn’t love his country and she later leaves. Gabriel feels comfortable to sit at the head of the table, serving meat and dressing the goose. Everyone is talking about music and operas, especially about Mr. D’Arcy’s voice, which is a tenor. Many of the good singers from Ireland left the country and went to other cities such as Milan, London, and Paris. While everyone leaves, Gretta is struck in nostalgia about how once there was a lover who was called Michael Furey. He worked at the gasworks, and even in nasty rain he came to pick her up. He died a week later. Gretta feels like he has died for her. After Gretta falls asleep, Gabriel looks upon his life, and realizes that he is on the way to an unremarkable and meaningless death. The Dead has the readers reflect on some of the significant themes in society, including death and how it affects people, mistreatment of women, and anti-nationalism with Ireland.
Death is a force that cannot be resisted but understanding the meaning of death and its impact is essential to people as it shapes how they live, love and connect with others. The meaning of death could be discussed into three kinds, which are the real dead, the walking dead, and the dying. Patrick Morkan, Grandpa Patrick, Mrs. Conroy, and Michael Furey are all dead, in real terms. Patrick Morkan’s death influenced his sisters, who had to move to another house in order to not go bankrupt. The death of Grandpa Patrick reminded the whole family talking about the funny story that Grandpa Patrick and his horse had. Mrs. Conroy is Gabriel’s mother. She was a good mother, cultivating two successful children, Gabriel and Constantine. However, she was not a good mother-in-law, which meant that she didn’t make nice comments about Gretta and his marriage. Michael Furey was Gretta’s childhood lover who showed great care toward Gretta. He was a passionate man, and he died for her a week later. The Walking Dead is composed of Freddy Malins and Mr. Browne. These two men are both alcoholics, but different in subtle ways. Freddy Malins is living on alcohol, while Mr. Browne is living for alcohol. The dying includes just Aunt Julia. She is the only one old enough to be dying, as emphasized by both her hair and her face. The Dead, which is the title of the story, emphasizes that the story is about death and its people. Death is universal and inevitable. No matter what people do, death will always be there. The death of all of the above-mentioned characters contribute to the changes of others’ lifestyles. Sometimes death itself has a lot of meaning and has a profound effect on people. Death can bring troubles. Aunt Julia and Aunt Kate needed to move out of the old house and find a new house because of the death of Patrick Morkan. On the other hand, death can trigger people to recall great memories. It is kind of funny, when people are alive, they don’t talk about the past or the old things; but when people die, others begin to recall the “good old times”. Also, people can die for love, very passionately. People, like Michael Furey, are willing to take risks to protect their loved ones even though they know it presents a large obstacle to them. Deep emotional bonds can lead to self-sacrificial behaviors. Moreover, death extends beyond its physical meaning. People can be spiritually dead, through a number of factors such as drugs and alcohol, even though they are physically alive, perhaps due to lack of purpose, happiness or meaningful engagement with life. Similarly, death cannot be avoided in any way, like Aunt Julia who is dying, as emphasized by her gray hair and face, and doesn’t understand what Gabriel is talking about during the party. Death is indiscriminate and inevitable. Although death is a universal experience that every person must face, a dead person can still be “alive” through the good old memories while a living person might be “dead” in terms of emotions or spirit.
Women’s realization of mistreatment and stereotypes by men leads them to view their rights and voices, which shocks men and makes men reflect on how and what to treat women. Women too often are underestimated and belittled by society. Such unrespectful thoughts and arrogant behaviors made by men would cause unfavorable images toward men. Gabriel receives three shocks from three different women during the annual party. The first woman is Lily, the caretaker’s daughter. Gabriel was shocked by Lily’s comments about men, stating that most men just want to get things out of women, not really loving them. The second woman is Miss Ivors, who is Gabriel’s colleague. Gabriel was impacted by Miss Ivors when he was accused of being a West Briton, who doesn’t love his own country. The third woman is Gretta, Gabriel’s wife. Gabriel is astounded to learn that Gretta had a childhood lover who died for her. Obviously, the three shocks are all from women and their actions somehow affect Gabriel. The whole story is written from the point of view of a man, but it emphasizes the status of women in Irish society, and what men's attitude towards them. Men often mistake women as disposable at that time. In Gabriel’s mind, he thought women were supposed to follow gender norms, such as being respectful of men, not being too forceful, having an opinion, and marrying after being done with school, as he said “I suppose we’ll be going to your wedding one of these fine days with your young man, eh?” However, Lily said men were “only all palaver and what they can get out of you”, therefore blaming Gabriel for being a man. This conflict left Gabriel in a sullen mood. Additionally, Miss Ivor, during dancing, told Gabriel that she knew he wrote in an Anti-Irish column of a newspaper, the Daily Express, stating that “ I have found out that you write for The Daily Express. Now, aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”. Gabriel’s writing makes Miss Ivors blame Gabriel for not loving his own country, Ireland. Gabriel Replies truthfully, saying that “to tell you the truth, I’m sick of my own country, sick of it!” Gabriel’s comment offends Miss Ivors. After the party Gabriel finds out that his wife Gretta had a childhood lover Michael Furey who died for her after visiting her in the rain. He was later sick and died. Gretta thinks that it is the purest form of love she had ever experienced. He was very angry and humiliated by the fact that Gretta had a childhood lover, and she still thought of him. He was very shocked by Lily’s offense, Miss Ivors’s blame, and Gretta’s confession, but he didn’t realize that these shocks came from his mistreatment of women. Minor incidents of shocks can bring profound impacts on how people interpret things or events, leading to lasting changes in mindset.
By comparing others’ nation’s culture, products, or policies, people who are anti-nationalism tend to criticize the parts where their countries don’t have. Anti-nationalists often show their deep appreciation for the richness, variety, and diversity in other nations, hoping to learn from them. Gabriel seems to be interested in everything foreign such as literature, galoshes, and other aspects of life. He thinks everyone in Dublin is a bit stupid. He wonders if they will understand the Robert Browning quote he has chosen to include in his speech, as though anything from outside of Ireland would be much too obscure and complicated for his Dublin family members. Gabriel’s desire for an escape is shown more through his lack of patriotism and his obsession with all things foreign. Gabriel seems to see everywhere outside of Ireland as a bit exotic, and generally superior in every way. Gabriel’s admiration for everything foreign emphasizes his discontent with Ireland. Miss Ivors calls him a West Briton, sending the message that he is sympathizing with Britain that Ireland should still be a colony of Britain. Gabriel denies this teasing accusation, but it seems to align with his sentiments toward England and his distaste for Ireland. His desire to escape Dublin isn’t as large, but he still has his anti-Irish beliefs, because he finds that almost everything outside of Dublin and Ireland is exotic and new. This glorification of all things foreign also also comes up in the conversation between Mr. Browne and Mr. Bartell D’Arcy, when they are talking about where all the good singers have gone. Gabriel’s condescending attitude toward Dublin is demonstrated through his demeanor toward Dubliners. Sometimes people are intrigued by other countries with the thoughts that everything in other couriers is interesting and superior, but it doesn’t justify the reason to allow the citizens to criticize their own nations.
Overall, the short story The Dead seems very simple but still, this story reflects many valuable themes throughout the story. Through the story The Dead, we can see the death and how it is inevitable, the mistreatment of women, and anti-nationalism of Ireland and the exoticness of other countries. Gabriel knows that every person, no matter when, will die, and this is impossible to not happen. Death falls upon almost every person, no matter age, body, class, or any other factor. The dead people can be put into three categories. People that are physically dead are Patrick Morkan, Grandpa Morkan, Mrs. Conroy, and Michael Furey. People that are spiritually dead are Mr. Browne and Freddy Malins. The dying just includes Aunt Julia. Women are also a problem in society, according to how men are treating them. Gabriel primarily bases his pride on Women’s comments, such as Aunt Julia and Kate. Anti-nationalism in Ireland is happening a lot, and Gabriel has a special interest in all things foreign.
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