Review of Joyce, James, The Dead, Adapted by Korelitz and Muldoon, 2017. James Joyce Literary. German translation of Pomes Penyeach; ebook only. David Norris. 'limited to 150 copies with a further 25 numbered in Roman numerals for private distribution'. Review of Joyce, James, Ulisse, Trans. Celati, 2013.

James Joyce 22 February 2016 Paralysis in Eveline and The Dead A recurring theme through the entirety of Dubliners is the feeling of paralysis that the characters in the stories feel. All the Dubliners seem to be spiritually weak, fearful people, slaves to their political, religious, moral, physical and love life. Once we have read all the stories in Dubliners, we see that the idea of paralysis is a common theme. In his collection of short stories, Joyce tried to portray this feeling of paralysis in Dublin and Ireland as a whole.

In one of his letters, he expresses the purpose of Dubliners – „My intention was to write a chapter of the moral history of my country and I chose Dublin for the scene because that city seemed to me the centre of paralysis.“ (Joyce, letter to Grant Richards, 5 May 1906). The question that arises is what were Joyce's reasons for thinking Dubliners were suffering from paralysis. In order to understand this, we have to look at the situation in Ireland at the time.

Ireland was under the British rule, they were oppressed and they had no independence. Joyce was writing Dubliners during the Irish Literary Revival, lead by W. Yeats and Lady Gregory. Irish literary renaissance was closely allied with a strong political nationalism and a revival of interest in Ireland’s Gaelic literary heritage. It was started as a means to prove that Ireland could be a country completely independent of England. I The British had control of the Irish who couldn't break free, and this is the reason Joyce wrote about the paralyzed state they were left in. His characters are paralyzed physically, emotionally, sexually, socially.

They are unable to move forward, even though they wish to, so instead, they remain idle and trapped. One thing I also found while researching is that Joyce used the term paralysis to denote a 1 condition of spiritual torpor caused by what he perceived to be the oppressive religiosity of Catholic culture in Ireland. Ii I think it is safe to say that Joyce wanted to help his characters by pointing out their bad sides, by allowing them to have a look at themselves through his works, and by allowing them a moment of realization which helps these characters face their paralysis.

Sachinenne pa belaruskaj move na temu pershi dzenj zmi. He believed he could liberate his country and prevent the feeling of paralysis that was spreading everywhere, and so he says – „In composing my chapter of moral history in exactly the way I have composed it, I have taken the first step towards spiritual liberation of my country. I seriously believe that you will retard the course of civilisation in Ireland by preventing the Irish people from having one good look at themselves in my nicely polished looking-glass.“ I would also like to mention how this sense of immobility causes in characters a desire to escape their dull everyday lives, their unfullfilling relationships, their country. They long for the East, for the exciting and new, in order to lead a happier life. Although they are given the opportunity to break away from their state of paralysis, unfortunately, none of the characters actually succeed, they are unable to reach epiphany so they continue living their paralyzed lives. In this essay I will introduce the theme of paralysis in the short stories “Eveline“ and “The Dead“.

I chose “ Eveline“ because this is the story whose protagonist is a good example of not being able to break the chains that bind her and leave in order to find a new life, and “The Dead“ because the protagonist, Gabriel, even though he openly states that he hates his country and is sick of it, rather decides to stay there, idle and numb. Eveline seems to me one of the best stories that presents us with a character whose mind is paralyzed. Eveline is a 19 year old girl who spends most her time looking through the window and reminiscing about the past, when she played with other children. She thinks of her late mother, of her abusive father with whom she lives.