In this essay I want to analyse and compare the two short stories “The Sisters” and “The Dead” from James Joyce’s Dubliners, the analysis of the theme of paralysis being a second focus. The first story of the Dubliners collection, “The Sisters”, opens the Dubliners sequence and explicitly introduces the topic of paralysis, one of Joyce’s major concerns and a direct criticism in view of his home town Dublin. Therefore the topic of paralysis suggests further investigation, especially concerning the content of “The Sisters”. In this essay I will ignore the earlier version of “The Sisters”, which was printed in The Irish Homestead in 1904, to avoid confusion and to concentrate on Joyce’s revised version, which was published in 1914 as the beginning of the Dubliners collection. Moreover the revised Dubliners version is better suited to be discussed in my essay, because of the fact that I want to take the general concept of paralysis within the whole collection of Dubliners into consideration. Nevertheless I will not take into account the contents of the other short stories from Dubliners, because I want to concentrate on the comparison between “The Sisters” and “The Dead”, in order to avoid digressions and to keep my main focus in mind. “The Dead” I chose for investigation, because several parallels to “The Sisters” and similarities concerning the contents suggest to understand “The Dead” as a final coda or summary to the Dubliners collection. Another reason for my choice of the two stories is founded on personal considerations: if I compiled a collection of short stories, I would put the best story at the ending as a climax and finale, and the second best at the beginning to arouse the reader’s interest and curiosity. I assume that Joyce pursued a similar strategy.
First I want to give a brief overview of common understandings and analysis of the central aspects and main characters of the two short stories, followed by an interpretation of the first and the last story of Dubliners as beginning and ending of a cycle. Next I want to show some more conspicuous parallels between “The Sisters” and “The Dead”, especially referring to the topic of paralysis. On the one hand I investigate paralysis as a theme within the short stories and as a characteristic of the storys’ main characters, and on the other as Joyce’s criticism towards his home town Dublin.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- An Analysis of “The Sisters”’s Central Topic
- An Analysis of “The Dead”’s Central Topic
- “The Sisters” and “The Dead” as beginning and ending of Dubliners as a cycle
- Parallels and Similarities between “The Sisters” and “The Dead”
- Paralysis in “The Sisters”
- Paralysis in “The Dead”
- Paralysis as Joyce’s criticism towards his home town Dublin
- Conclusion
- Works Cited
Objectives and Key Themes
This essay aims to analyze and compare the two short stories “The Sisters” and “The Dead” from James Joyce’s Dubliners, focusing on the theme of paralysis. The essay begins by exploring the central themes of each story and examining the significance of their positions as the opening and closing pieces of the Dubliners collection. It then delves into the parallels and similarities between the two stories, specifically examining the theme of paralysis. Finally, the essay considers paralysis as Joyce’s critique of his hometown Dublin.- The role of "The Sisters" and "The Dead" as the beginning and ending of Dubliners
- Paralysis as a central theme in both stories
- The significance of the relationship between the unnamed boy and Father Flynn in "The Sisters"
- The impact of the death of Michael Furey on Gretta Conroy in "The Dead"
- Joyce's critique of Dublin through the lens of paralysis
Chapter Summaries
- Introduction: The introduction establishes the essay's focus on analyzing and comparing “The Sisters” and “The Dead” in relation to the theme of paralysis. The essay highlights the importance of these stories as the opening and closing pieces of the Dubliners collection and emphasizes the relevance of paralysis as a critical theme.
- An Analysis of “The Sisters”’s Central Topic: This section explores different interpretations of “The Sisters” from various critics, focusing on the story's central themes, including the boy's reaction to the death of Father Flynn, his disillusionment with the cleric, and the complex relationship between the boy and his mentor. The section highlights the significance of the priest's role in the story and the boy's feelings of attraction and repulsion towards him.
- An Analysis of “The Dead”’s Central Topic: This section delves into the central theme of “The Dead,” highlighting its role as a coda to the Dubliners collection. The section explores the complexities of the story, emphasizing the significance of the death of Michael Furey and its impact on Gretta Conroy. The title "The Dead" is examined in relation to those who continue to affect our lives even after they are gone.
- “The Sisters” and “The Dead” as beginning and ending of Dubliners as a cycle: This section explores the parallels and similarities between “The Sisters” and “The Dead,” highlighting their thematic and structural connections as the opening and closing pieces of the Dubliners collection. The section aims to demonstrate how the stories act as a cycle, with “The Dead” providing a final summary to the collection.
- Paralysis in “The Sisters”: This section investigates the theme of paralysis in "The Sisters," analyzing how the story's characters experience a state of stasis, both physically and emotionally. The section focuses on the boy's emotional state and his inability to move beyond his grief and disillusionment.
- Paralysis in “The Dead”: This section examines the theme of paralysis in "The Dead," analyzing the characters' stagnant lives and their inability to break free from their past. The section explores the theme of paralysis in relation to Gretta Conroy's memories of Michael Furey and Gabriel's own sense of stagnation.
- Paralysis as Joyce’s criticism towards his home town Dublin: This section explores the theme of paralysis as a critique of Dublin, analyzing how the city itself is depicted as a place of stagnation and decline. The section examines how Joyce uses the characters' experiences of paralysis to express his own dissatisfaction with Dublin.
Keywords
This essay explores the short stories "The Sisters" and "The Dead" from James Joyce's Dubliners collection, focusing on the theme of paralysis and its significance as a commentary on the stagnation of Dublin society. The analysis examines the characters' emotional states, their relationships, and their experiences of confinement, highlighting the role of paralysis as a critical theme in both stories. The essay explores the parallels between these two stories and their positions as the beginning and ending of the collection.- Quote paper
- Jascha Walter (Author), 2005, The Topic of Paralysis. Parallels between “The Sisters” and “The Dead” as Beginning and Ending of James Joyce’s „Dubliners", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/128377
