Dubliners
Dubliners is considered a champion among books written in the English language. James Joyce's characterization of not only the people in the stories, but of Dublin itself, demonstrates his great ability as an author. Dubliners is not a book with a normal story line, a plot, and a definite climax and resolution. Instead, it is more of a setting, an atmosphere, an "epiphany" as Joyce called it. To understand the book, it is recommendable to focus on Irish history, and more specifically, Charles Stewart Parnell. He is a figure alluded to in this and other books by Joyce. He has been referred to as the "uncrowned king of Ireland." The series of short stories included in Dubliners depict a broken morale in and around the city of Dublin. The early 1900's marked a time of disheartened spirits not only in Dublin but all of Ireland. England still clutched Ireland under it's own control.. The citizens were bitter and dismayed. It wasn't until 1922 that Ireland freed itself from England. Up until that time, Ireland was occupied and ruled from Britain. The occupation had begun hundreds of years before, but from the end of the 18th century, a distinct Irish nationalism began to evolve. From 1801 onwards, Ireland had no
Story after story, Dubliners becomes a manifestation of art. It is not simply a compilation of short stories. It is not merely a descriptive piece of what Dublin is either. It reaches into the hearts of the characters and the heart of Dublin. Joyce ingeniously blends the culture and the history into an exceptional book. It not only sparks interest into our opinion of Dublin, but also an opinion about ourselves. Despite this, Parnell stepped over his opposition, namely the lawyer Issac Butt, and was elected president of the Home Rule Federation. He held a limited belief of the efficiency of parliamentarianism. Without a well organized public opinion in Ireland, Parnell felt his power in Parliament would be slight. He publicly stated that association with the House of Commons would destroy the integrity of any Irish Party. After the potato famine in Ireland, a group was founded in 1858 known as the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Also known as the Fenians, they formed a secret society which rejected constitutional attempts to gain independence. Due to their somewhat forceful ways, the English courts in Ireland were kept busy with their Fenian prisoners. Their defense lawyer, Issac Butt, though not completely in accordance with the Fenian definition for independence, coined a new term referred to as "Home Rule." Out of this sparked the formation of the "Home Rule League." Charles Stewart Parnell was a squire of Avondale, County Wicklow during this time. A reference to this is found in the story, "Ivy Day in the Committee Room." Mr. O'Connor, himself a man into Irish politics, is found "sitting by the fire in the Committee Room in Wicklow Street with Jack, the old caretaker." Mr. O'Connor is working on a campaign to elect his representative, Mr. Tierney. This is precisely what Parnell was doing in his time; trying to get elected to Parliament. He was defeated twice. In Joyce's own words we can see that Dubliners is not necessarily a story or a nov
Some common words found in the essay are:
Ireland Tell, James Duffy, Dubliners Hynes, James Joyce's, Didn't Parnell, O' Connor, Rule Acts, Stewart Parnell, Brotherhood Fenians, Thomas Davis, home rule, city dublin, charles stewart parnell, dublin ireland, chose dublin, uncrowned king, ivy day, day committee, king ireland, ivy day committee, short stories, lawyer issac butt, o' connor,
Approximate Word count = 1323
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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