Theme of discovery in "the Murder", "The Dead" and "Clay"

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Theme of discovery in “the Murder”, “The Dead” and “Clay”

In the three short stories, you can see how all of the characters are discover their destiny, and become self-aware of their condition. In “the Dead” this is extremely obvious, as Gabriel (the main character), after misreading several signals that were supposed to warn him about the mood his wife was in, realises that he actually does not understand the person he had married, and that he had been fooling himself both intellectually and emotionally. By trying to escape from that paralysis that affected all of Ireland, as the excess of patriotism symbolised by Miss Ivors would prevent him from taking advantage of what the continent offers, he also prevented himself from learning about what he already had. He does not understand his wife, and he never really manages to escape from Ireland’s influence anyway, what becomes obvious when seeing his reaction towards Miss Ivor’s accusation. All of these things allow him to realise that, as he will never free himself, he might as well accept his destiny, by starting “his journey towards westward”. His paralysis now will be complete, what is symbolised by the “snow”, which falls “all over Ireland”.

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In “the Clay”, another James Joyce story, Maria (the main character) also discovers their destiny and what that predestined condition entitles. It also involves paralysis and the impossibility of breaking that cycle. This time though it is symbolised by the clay she founds in the saucer that was supposed to tell her what destiny awaited her, and, after a second try, a prayer book. I believe that the clay means that she has nothing to expect from the future, nor travel nor marriage. She has no liberty and no chance to develop. Besides, she is obviously not used to be ...

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