The Theme Of Encounters In James Joyce's Dubliners

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In The book Dubliners, By James Joyce, many of the stories show a light at the end of the tunnel to the main characters. That light is the idea of them escaping their problems or routine. But the twisting factor is that they don 't escape in the stories or they find out escaping wasn 't what they wanted. The theme of Dubliners is that; in not escaping, you won 't find happiness. In the story An Encounter a couple young boys read some short stories about the wild west and the adventures of American detectives, and these stories were not allowed at their school. the narrator and two other boys just wanted to break the normal routine for some fun. So the three boys decided to skip school and take an adventure to the pigeon house. The narrator shows his …show more content…

They’ll do anything for a quick buck. Corley leaves Lenehan to go be with a young woman who will pay him to go on a date. Lenehan goes for a long walk, and he finds a refreshment bar and decides to get something to eat. While he 's eating, he starts contemplating his and Corley 's lives and how Corley is with a girl basically selling himself for some money. The thought of this upset Lenehan: “This vision made him keenly his own poverty of purse and spirit. He was tired of knocking about, of pulling the devil by the tail, of shifts and intrigues” (Dubliners pg. 54). he sat and contemplated his possibilities for A while in the bar: “Less weary of life, Less vanquished in spirit. He might be able to settle down in some snug corner and live happily if he could only come across some good simple-minded girl with a little of the ready” (Dubliners pg. 55). Lenehan puts good thought into this matter and yet he does not bring himself to do anything about his situation. he simply returns to Corley and continues on the way he is. Lenehan found no escape from his unfulfilled thoughts and his schemes and friends, Therefore he won 't find happiness until he does act on his

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