#6 Dubliners by James Joyce

"The Wild Ones" by Jack B. Yeats

 This book is definitely one of the most well written pieces of literature that I've come across in a long time. It is a good sign when you can reread something and receive even more enjoyment out of it the second time around. That being said, I am excited to read more by James Joyce some day, but for now it is all about Dubliners.

I began reading just before leaving for a tour, and ironically enough, my tour guide was from Dublin. It is interesting to me to find myself being pulled into these scenes when Temple Bar or the river Liffey is mentioned, but the stories really do the city and the people justice. There is such a huge difference of social functionality between cities in Ireland that I was utterly amazed. From Galway to Killarney to Cork to Dublin, the Irish are the same, but all so different!

So for Dubliners at this time, it is all about routine and fantasizing about breaking away from this daily droning into something full of spontaneous excitement. The difficulty lies in a moment when you must make a sacrifice to build something better, and in each scene the character will struggle with a reaction. It is fear or a circumstance or even a person who has such an impact that change seems impossible.

When it comes to the last story, The Dead the theme is obviously in the title. In this story, the final word leaves the reader with a somewhat reassuring truth to the matter at hand. The life of those who live outside the routine leaves more of an impact, because they were devoted to something and this force is carried over even after their deaths. They will be remembered among and even over the living for their passionate nature.

Out of all of these stories, I have to say my favorite is Eveline. There's just something very romantic about it.

Encounters with Realism

James Joyce in 1904

#6 Dubliners by James Joyce

 Ever since I left for Ireland, I’ve been carrying around the next book Dubliners.  This book which is a compilation of fifteen separate short stories was written by James Joyce in and about early 20^th Century life in Dublin.  The stories are told through the eyes of narrators at various stages in life, and each is progressively older than the next.  

It took me awhile to really get into this, and it may just be because the writing style is so relaxed and fluid.  The stories need no build up or introduction, and as you read, you have to allow yourself to fall into the scene.  

What I have found to be most intriguing is the simplicity and realism within each story.  Joyce is the type who picks each word carefully and will not overdo the description.  Because of this, time seems to pass at the true pace of experiencing a memory. 

These scenes are snippets of average, everyday life for all middle class Dubliners at this time.  But there is also a powerful message in each one of these stories.  I find most of them are unsettling in some way.  Each seems to hold a key lesson.  There is always something to be silently observed from the distance in these stories, and the difference between succeeding and failing at what appears the smallest insignificant moment becomes symbolic of the larger picture.  

Much of Joyce’s intent when it comes to the emotion of each story is to demonstrate how life is never as simple as it seems on the surface for a Dubliner.  Routine is inevitable at the end of the day.  To break away requires change for the better and can depend on another's cooperation.  Or the joys in life may very well be missed for fear of taking the next step into the unknown.  

The Liffey Swim by Jack Butler Yeats