Literary Analysis :: Essays Papers

Literary Analysis Literature is much more then simply a compilation of words thrown down into a take that work together to make a story. Nearly every author that takes the time to write a book is looking to not only retell a story, but to put forth their own ideas and beliefs. In Dubliners, James Joyce uses the theme of escape and journey to show the conflict between the individual and ships company in Dublin. Although at first glance many of these themes are simply over looked, upon closer reading it is easy to see that the characters in Joyces novels fight down Ireland as a total. The both themes explained above are very prevalent in two stories, An Encounter and The Dead. These two themes are repeated ten-fold times in both these stories not as a mere coincidence, but as a carriage for Joyce to show his opinion on Irish culture during that period of time. The idea of needing to escape from society is most blatantly shown in An Encounter. The ent ire plot of the story is based round two boys secret trip out of their local community to explore other things that Ireland has to offer. Although the boys never leave Ireland, Joyce uses them as a representation of Ireland as a whole wanting to escape their everyday boring lives. The young boys dream about living lives in the Wild West filled with adventure and danger. Neither of the boys has travelled this far from home by themselves, and they are excited with the unknown they experience. This small trip just out of their local community is in a way their own adventure in Ireland. This same need for escape is also very prevalent in The Dead. Unlike in An Encounter, Joyce does not decide to make the characters physically leave on a journey. Instead he implies this through their dialogue and thoughts. Toward the beginning of the story, the two aunts discuss their fears that Freddy Malins is going to produce at the party drunk (176). The sisters fear that he is going to be a nuisance, and to do not want the other guests to feel uncomfortable around him.