Dubliners is a series of short stories written by James Joyce. Joyce wrote these stories so that the can represent the people of Dublin and their paralysis during different stages of life. According to Joyce, the first stage is childhood, the second stage

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Lory Leon        Dubliners        

Dubliners is a series of short stories written by James Joyce. Joyce wrote these stories so that the can represent the people of Dublin and their paralysis during different stages of life. According to Joyce, the first stage is childhood, the second stage is young adulthood, and the final stage is mature life. In the childhood stage, the first three stories are told by different characters who are attempting to escape from their situation, but in the end they become trapped and are unable to leave the life of Dublin. Joyce is able to enhance his theme of moral and spiritual paralysis by using; character development, symbolism, repetition and irony in his first three stories.

To begin with there are many examples that illustrate how the characters in the stories change. For example, in “The Sisters,” Joyce demonstrates how the narrator’s character is very active in the beginning. For instance, when Old Cotter speaks poorly about Father Flynn, the boy is angry by this comment and calls Old Cotter a “tiresome, old red nosed imbecile!” (Joyce 3).  The narrator’s remark shows that he is still a child but at the same time this remark demonstrates that he respects Father Flynn. Unfortunately, towards the end the boy withdraws from the story, he now only listens to the comments from his mother and the sisters but he doesn’t say anything. The boy’s inability to speak illustrates paralysis, which in part is due to the death of Father Flynn.

Also, inn “An Encounter” Joyce shows how the narrator is paralyzed, which makes him unable to escape from a horrible situation. In the beginning of the story the character is portrayed as “younger and more timid” (Joyce 12) when compared to Dillon and the other boys. Furthermore, the narrator is different when compared to his friend Mahony; this is because Mahony is able to escape the old man that the narrator is trapped with. While the old man is talking to the narrator, the narrator is envious of Mahony because he has the courage to leave. The old man turns out to be a pervert and robs the narrator of his childhood innocence by the way he talks. Again, the narrator character remains the same because he lacks courage to break away from an uncomfortable setting.

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Similarly, in “Araby” Joyce once more demonstrates paralysis using the narrator’s character development. The story of “Araby” illustrates a boy’s struggle from childhood to adulthood. In the beginning of the story, the narrator appears to be shy and wishes to talk to Mangan’s sister, but all he ever does is secretly watch her from the window, longing to talk to her (Joyce 22). When the opportunity arises the narrator is ecstatic because he has a chance of loving if he brings back a gift. Unfortunately, when the narrator reaches the bazaar he is too late because the bazaar has closed. ...

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