In this essay I’m going to discuss which is the role of characters, and how they are presented in James Joyce’s story “the dead”. The story is part of a collection: “the Dubliners”. It is told by a third-person narrator, who seems to know everything, every detail of every character. Despite the third person narrator, much of the story is left to the character themselves; their feelings and their thoughts are what allows the reader to understand both the story and the characters. In the story basically nothing really happens: there is a party and the main character, Gabriel Conroy, has to make a speech. The first part of the story deals with his being anxious about the speech and a lot of importance is given to his thoughts and to the dialogue with other characters. It is not only through his thoughts, but also through dialogue that the reader understand each character’s personality and views. The story has a climax when he actually has the speech, and then in the end we see a different side of him and his wife. The conclusion is left to Gabriel’s thoughts and is open, since the reader can’t know anything for sure though can make a supposition about what will happen. Even though there are many characters and all of them play a part in the story, Gabriel Conroy is definitely the main character; It is possible to understand it because most of the story is focused on his thought and on his interactions. The reader gets to know him and the other characters by their