Epiphanies in Dubliners

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Dubliners begins on a dismal note. The first story, “Two Sisters” opening sentence begins with: “There was no hope for him this time” (9) referring to the dead Father Flynn and through the course of reading the fifteen stories in Dubliners the reader discovers there is no hope for any of the characters in any of the stories. The lives of Joyce’s Dubliners and Ireland itself has been defined by the Roman Catholic influence on the people, English rule and the Irish’s own struggle for political and cultural independence and self- identity. The characters in James Joyce’s Dubliners have all been weighed down and caught up not only in the oppression of these external institutions but also by the oppression within themselves and their families. Joyce’s Dubliners, as they go through the routine of their everyday lives, have these moments, these glimpses into themselves and their lives that Joyce defined as “epiphanies.” These epiphanies occur in the normal course of daily life, usually as a result of an incidence where the character suffers some type of disillusionment or disappointment. In all of these instances the character sees his or her life and the futility of it. This moment produces a clarity and recognition that this misery, pain and sadness are their existence. Joyce creates characters that desire someone or something and then sets up challenges for them that they have to overcome in order to break free from the routine and sadness of their lives. It is in these moments, these epiphanies, when for the first time, the truth of their lives is revealed to these characters and to the reader. However, instead of seizing the moment, breaking away and out of the frustration and despair of their lives, they are seized by it. ...

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...ugh the character of Stephen, voices his belief that the Irish are trapped inside their own nets of tradition, paralyzing themselves and each other. They are unable to break the cycle of paralysis in their lives, even as they recognize it killing their souls. His characters in Dubliners demonstrate what happens to these souls as they trudge through the same routines day-after-day and the epiphanies that occur when they try to break free and realize their lives will consist of disillusionment, disappointment and ultimately frustration. All of the Dubliners are the living dead with their souls are on the verge of being extinguished as their lives flicker and waver and their identities continue to dissolve and disappear.

Works Cited

Joyce, James. Dubliners. 1916. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 1977. Print

Joyce, James. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

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