A Collection of Short Stories by James Joyce Dubliners
James Joyce 1882-1941 Born in Dublin, Ireland Oldest of 10 children Unstable childhood, financial instability Left Ireland for Paris, but came back when his mother was dying Spent the rest of his life traveling in and around Europe Relationship to his home country was complex
James Joyce 1882-1941 Known for his experimental use of language Extensive use of inner monologue Network of symbolic parallels to history, myth, and literature Stream of consciousness style Became a literary celebrity Use of obscenities in his writing lead to landmark legal decisions
Most Famous Works Chamber Music (1907) Dubliners (1914) A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) Ulysses (1922) Finnegan’s Wake (1939)
Dubliners A collection of short stories Each is about people living in Dublin Joyce said his goal was to write a moral history of his home city Chose Dublin because he said it was the center of “paralysis” Stories deal with this theme through childhood, adolescence, maturity and public life
Dubliners Characters are all everyday people doing everyday things Stories usually involve an epiphany, or a moment of realization or awakening Theme of paralysis is pervasive throughout the text The final story in the series, “The Dead,” is one of the most famous short stories in British Literature
Dubliners Stories are short, but filled with detail, symbolism and allusions
Dubliners Paralysis – what does that mean? Literal and figurative What internal conflicts can make someone paralyzed? External conflicts?