that she had ran away with a fellow?’
These questions are betraying her thought’s and she is questioning herself and by questioning herself its giving her doubts.She is very aware of society.Eveline’s father found out that she was having an affair with a man by the name of Frank and he has forbidden Eveline to have anything to say to him.Eveline is determid at this point because she has gone behind her father’s back and it gives the impression she is scared and that she has betrayed her father.After this she had to see Frank secretly but she is still betraying her father.
Eveline has been betrayed by her brothers and she also feels that she has betrayed her mother.Eveline promised her mother before she died that she would look out and take care of her family.Eveline’s brothers left her alone with her abusive and violent father and she felt betrayed by them after all she cared for them fed them and this is how they repay her by leaving.Eveline feels she has now betrayed her mother by the leaving of her brothers,because she had broken her promise to keep the family together.What ever went on in her home even though she was over the age of eighteen she still felt that she was in danger of her father’s violence.
Eveline has a chance to escape from her violent father but refuses to leave.This passage is very dramatic,Eveline feels scared but shocked at the same time because she knows her mother is telling her to leave and that Frank would save her.She took her mother’s word and escaped with Frank,they arrived at the boat and she felt no love towards Frank and couldn’t face leaving.
‘Her eyes gave no sign of love
or farewell or recognition.’
She gives the impression as if she doesn’t want any love in her life and would rather live the same old town trodden life she has been living.
The imagery Joyce uses at the end of this short story is very effective.
‘All the seas of the world tumbled
about her heart.He was drowning
her into them.’
This is a metaphoric sea.This is giving us the impression that she is drowning in her troubles and that she is feeling pressured into what decision she is to make.Another image that was used in this passage was,
‘She set he white face to him,
passive like a helpless animal.’
This is portraying that she is scared and confused.Eveline obviously didn’t want to escape because she would be betraying her mother and her father so she leaves Frank alone and goes back home.
The second story Im going to discuss is ‘The Sisters’.
This story is about the living trying to understand the dead.It involves a young boy and priest.The priest have been suffering from some kind of disease which I believe is cancer.The priest is paralysed by this illness he cant move.The priest has died and the young boy feels freed by his religeon into the boy and he is relived by him dieing.The young boy has an obsession with the word paralysis.
‘I said softly to myself the
word paralysis.’
He has a feeling that the priest was paralised before his death.The young boy was emotionally paralied by the priest because he forced the young boy yo learn about the Church’s language,Which he did but got to involved in the religeon and become paralised.
The third story I am going to discuss is ‘The Dead’.
This story is based on love and romance.Gretta is emotionally paralised by her love for Michael Furey.It’s the night of Mrs Morkans annual dance.Everyone turns up like every other year.Gretta and Gabriel go off and stays in a hotel and at this point love and honesty is the main theme.Gabriel reveals his true love for Gretta and he says he wil always love her.But does Gretta feel the same way for Gabriel?Gretta tells Gabriel her true feelings.Gretta still has feelings for Michael Furey who died for her love.
Gretta had told Gabriel what her and Michael used to do when he was alive which made Gabriel feel as if he have played a small part in her life!
‘It hardly pained him now to think how poor
a part he,her husband ,had played in her life.’
Gretta was emotionally paralised by the death of Michael and he now knows he cant play the same role as Michael did in Gretta’s life.He feels that he have shown so much love and care for Gretta that she should feel the same way towards him to.
Gabriel feels really devastated that he cant replace Michael and Gretta still has very strong feelings for Michael even thought he had died.
This short story is based on love and romance.Gretta is emotionally paralised by love and death of her long lost love and you could say that Gabriel is emotionally paralised by his love for Gretta.
The fourth story I am going to discuss is ‘The Boarding House’,It is owned by a women and her name is Mrs Mooney.Mrs Mooney has one son and one daughter.This boarding house was in Dublin it was where all the young business men stayed on their travels around the country with their work.Mrs Mooney and her family were well respected by everyone until there was once an incedent in ‘The Boarding House’ with Mrs Mooney’s daughter and one of the tenants.There was something going on between Mrs Mooney’s daughter Polly and one of the tenants she was very aware their having an affair but didn’t mention it to anybody until the rest of the tenants started gossiping and she would over hear their conversation.
The young man have become paralised by his actions and he was scared that if his boss ‘Mrs Mooney’ found out he would loose his job and honour in “The Boarding House’ and never get to see Polly again.What the young boy suggested was to marry Polly.
‘Once you are married you are done for,it said’
The young boy doesn’t want to get married but of course the fear and preassure he is under he doesn’t want to loose his job,honour and not get to see Polly leaves him with no choice but to marry Polly.Even though he had thoughts in his mind about Mrs Mooney knowing about the relationship he still wanted to marry Polly to save his job and honour.Mrs Mooney tryes to talk the young boy put of the relationship he had with Polly it leaves him to think what he is going to say when she asked him why he is doing this.Polly and Mrs Mooney have trapped the young boy in marriage and knew that because he was a business man he couldn’t afford to jeopardise his carier in ‘The Boarding House’.
The fifth story I am going to discuss is A Mother.This is a story that tells us about a lady by the name of Mrs Kearny who is paralised becuase of her sex.Mrs Keanry had helped Mr Holohan he still wouldn’t talk to her or give her daughter the money owed for the four concerts that were suppose to take place,Even though one of the concerts had been cancelled Mrs Kearny still felt that her daughter should get payed the amount of money that was stated in the contract for her.
‘She called Mr Fitzpatrick away from his screen and told him
that her daughter had signed for a four concerts,of course,
according to the terms of the contract,she would receive the sum
originally stipulated for whether the society gave the four concerts
or not.’
This made Mrs Kearny feel awful angry and stressed.Not even one solicitor would talk to her about this or help her fight her battle for her daughters money that was stated in her contract.Mrs Kearny new this happened to her just beacause she is a female.Mrs Kearny felt as if everyone is being sexist towards her because she is a female.Mrs Kearny felt as if she was a male everything would have been different and she would have recived her daughters money or atleast someone would talk to her about this matter.
I would now like to discuss the similarities between ‘The Sisters’ and ‘The Dead’.
First of all the both stories could be called any of the titles,I think that Joyce done this because it makes the story go round in a circular motion and makes it more effective ones you have read the whole book.The both stories involve death and its basicly the main theme of both stories.The both stories are stuck in the past cant move on going round in a circle.Both main cgharacters are male/protagonists.The both stories are based on paralysis and religeon.
