Alicia kim's blog

Introduction:
Dubliners is a novel by James Joyce that contains fifteen short stories. The stories have different points of view and the characters are connected to his other novel, Ulysses. The background or setting is in Dublin, Ireland, in the early 20th century. It was published in 1914.

Plot:
The Sisters: A young boy deals with the death of a priest, Father Flynn. He goes with his aunt to see the body and meets the priest’s grieving sisters. The sisters talk to the aunt about Father Flynn’s death and discuss his odd behavior before he died.
An Encounter: Two boys decide to skip school and have an adventure in Dublin. They walk around the city and then take a break in a field. A strange old man comes up to them and says things that make them feel uneasy. Thankfully, they get away from him and continue their adventure.
Araby: A boy falls in love with his neighbor’s sister. She tells him about a bazaar called Araby and he plans to buy something for her. However, he arrives too late and doesn’t buy anything.
Eveline: Eveline considers running away with her lover to Argentina but keeps thinking if she made the right choice. She changes her mind at the last moment and doesn’t go with him.
After the Race: Jimmy Doyle spends a night with his rich foreign friends after watching a car race. They have a fancy meal, drink, dance, and play card games. Jimmy is impressed by their wealth and status. But in the end, he runs out of money and realizes he was foolish to get caught up in their abundant lifestyle.
Two Gallants: Lenehan and Corley walk around Dublin and talk about their plan to trick a housemaid who works for a rich family. Corley meets with the girl. Later that night, Lenehan goes to the house as planned and sees the girl get something for Corley. Eventually, Corley tells Lenehan that she got a gold coin for him.
The Boarding House: Mrs. Mooney sees Polly and Mr. Doran starting to like each other. She arranges a meeting with Mr. Doran to discuss marriage. Mr. Doran is nervous but excited about the conversation and the possibility of a new life. He decides that he must marry Polly.
A Little Cloud: Little Chandler meets his friend Gallaher and feels envious of his successful life. He dreams of being a poet and having wealth but feels guilty of himself and accepts his responsibilities.
Counterparts: After a tough day at work, Farrington goes out drinking with his friends. He sells his watch to get money but spends it all on drinks. Getting angrier, Farrington loses a game and becomes even more frustrated. When he gets home, he takes out his anger on his son by hitting him.
Clay: On Halloween, Maria goes to see Joe Donnelly and brings treats for his family. She loses a special cake she bought, but they still have fun together and she sings a song for them.
A Painful Case: Mr. Duffy and Mrs. Sinico become friends but end their relationship when she touches his hand. Years later, he learns she died and feels regret for losing his chance at love.
Ivy Day in the Committee Room: Men promoting a candidate meet on Ivy Day, complain about not getting paid on time, and talk about politics. One of the people recites a poem for Charles Stuart Parnell that he wrote to honor him.
A Mother: Mrs. Kearney helps organize a concert series but gets angry when things go wrong and demands payment for her daughter, causing a scene.
Grace: Embarrassed and struggling with alcohol, Tom Kernan attends a Catholic retreat with his friends. The priest talks about confessing sins and finding forgiveness through God’s grace.
The Dead: Gabriel attends a party with his wife and has uncomfortable encounters. He upsets the housemaid, gets teased by his dance partner, and sees his wife lost in thought about a past love. He feels sad and reflects on his own life.

Analysis:
Dubliners have different stories that aren’t really related to the book’s title. Most of the short stories have characters that are living in Dublin. The overall theme I found while reading the book is that the characters slowly shift from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. This shows that this book’s chronological order is like a coming-of-age. Another thing that was pointed out quite frequently was privacy to publicity. The characters each had their own private thoughts but the settings are often in public spaces. The stories’ importance shows the connection between their private thoughts and their public lives.

Conclusion:
Dubliners is a collection of short stories that happens in Dublin, Ireland, written by James Joyce. The stories have different points of view and have different main characters. The stories shift from childhood to adulthood throughout the book and the stories. The stories show the vitality of privacy and a strong connection between private thoughts and public life.