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The Dead By James Joyce Essay

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‘The Dead’ explores the intersection of life and death, concluding the overall thematic concerns of James Joyce’s collation of short stories in Dubliners. Gabriel is under the impression that there is a distinction between life and death; however, Joyce allows the reader to come to the realisation that the past and present coexist in a routine world of mourning. The meaning of this passage revolves around the notion that death is connected to life due to the dreariness of isolation and the past being deeply rooted in the present, therefore decelerating individuals’ lives. This essay purports to identify how this meaning is generated through the use of textual elements throughout the passage.
Joyce alienates Gabriel throughout the passage by …show more content…

The simplistic referral of Gretta being “a woman” and “his wife” reduces her status and further disconnects her from Gabriel. This referral is in accordance to traditional marital roles, and thus the character’s lives are plagued with routine and tradition. The finality of the full stop punctuation after, “It was his wife” further supports these ideas of disconnection between husband and wife due to its simplistic, emotionless tone. Gabriel and Gretta are presented through this language as disconnected partners, and thus their relationship is replicating the lives of the residents of Ireland as they are frozen in a state of the drudgery of the present and unable to move forward with their lives. The descriptive imagery of Gretta’s skirt being “terracotta and salmon pink panels” that “the shadow made appear black and white” connotes ideals of an alternate dark façade within life. While acknowledging the intended, original lively bright colours of the skirt, Joyce draws attention to the darkness embedded within skirt by bringing attention to it emitting a shadow. This is indicative of the darkness embedded within life, contributing to the overarching meaning of death within life. Gretta also is described to be eerily enshrouded in “stillness” as she listens to the music of Old Irish Tonality, exhibiting the impression of being entrenched in the past.

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