Life in Dublin

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Life in Dublin

In his book Dubliners, James Joyce looks deep inside the lives of those who live in Dublin. Many of the characters are bored with how they live their lives. They want desperately to get out of Dublin. They wish to lead exciting lives somewhere else, whether it is in a fantasy or in a different part of Ireland. In this book, they will try to escape their everyday lives by traveling outside of their normal everyday activities. Individuals in society are often portrayed as trying to escape Dublin.

In the story “Eveline,” a young woman is trying to escape her household through a journey with a young man named Frank. Her escape is shown through individual and society. This journey takes her away from the miserable life she is living. “Now she is going to go away like the others, to leave her home” (29). Eveline wants to explore a new and more exciting life with Frank. The two of them are escaping from Dublin by a night-boat to Buenos Ayres. Eveline wishes that Frank can save her from all that surrounds her in the life she leads.

Throughout this story, Eveline has encounters with a violent father that she wishes to escape. Leaving with Frank is the solution to her problem. Before her mother dies, Eveline promised that she will keep the home together as long as she could. Eveline’s father tells her that she squanders the money and that he isn’t going to give her the money because he works hard for the money and it shouldn’t be thrown around on the streets. “…she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father’s abuse” (30). Through her escape with Frank she can escape her father’s demeaning remarks and his constant verbal and physical abuse. Eveline is going tired of doing all the cooking and the cleaning. Frank is going to take her away from what he is doing to the family. With her mind set on escaping from Dublin, Eveline realizes that she will have an effect on society, her family, and herself.

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