Symbolism Used in James Joyces Dubliners Essay Example for Free

Symbolism Used in pack Joyces Dubliners EssaySymbolism is a powerful tool apply by people every day to force people to look past the obvious and find the deeper importation. Symbolism is used by authors, musicians, priests, and objet darty others. James Joyce, a well- haven Irish author, uses symbol repeatedly throughout his collection of short stories published in 1916. In these stories, titled Dubliners, Joyce uses symbolism not precisely to enhance the stories, but to in like manner show the hidden, underlying message of each story without coming out and saying it directly. Joyces stories are centered on the problems of Dublin and through his use of symbolism Joyce is able to focus attention on what problem each story is addressing. James Joyce, author of Dubliners, uses symbolism effectively to enhance the stories. The first story in Dubliners deals with the problems of the Catholic Church. The Sisters is somewhat a priest, Father Flynn, who goes crazy because of the incredible stress placed on him by the rule-centered church. A note publicly announcing the priests death read July 1st, 1895 The Rev. James Flynn (Formerly of S.Catherines Church, Meath Street), aged sixty-five years. R. I. P. (Joyce 4). Joyce associates Father Flynn with S. Catherines Church because St. Catherine was torn apart(predicate) physically and Father Flynn was torn apart mentally, because of the rules and strict guidelines he was expected to uphold. Making this inter-group communication enhances the story because it shows the reader that if the priest cant hatch the rules placed on him by the church, how was an average person supposed to. The date is also symbolic because July 1st is The Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Christ.The open frame of the chalice during Mass was the cause of his death. Fr. Flynns sister said It was that chalice he broke. That was the beginning of itThat affected his mind (9-10). At his wake the priest his attribute the chalice in his hands, which symbolized the evil church was the cause of this mans death and reiterating the main source of the story. An Encounter is the next story and its major theme is appearance versus reality, meaning things are not always what they seem. The story is astir(predicate) a few male childs decision to play hooky from enlighten in order to have an adventure.The sons meet an old man who is nice on the outside, but is actually very evil. Just before the boys come crosswise the old man on their adventure the sun went in behind some clouds (16). The sunny, innocent day turns dark symbolizing that something bad is near to happen. Joyce uses the wear in many of his stories to foreshadow events that are about to happen. This technique adds to the stories because it helps the reader know that something is about to happen and as a result they pay imminent attention to what it is that Joyce is referring to.When the boys meet the old man he was dressed in a suit of greenish-black (16 ) and had a pair of bottle-green eyes (19). Green is the affectation of Ireland and Joyce associates it with evil. By making a connection between the color of Ireland and the evil old pedophile, Joyce is really associating the evilness with all of Ireland, which is the major theme of Dubliners. Joyce is very grave at giving hints about certain characters. For example, when the boys were talking with the pedophile they noticed he had great gaps in his mouth between his yellow teeth (17) and organism gap toothed symbolized someone who was sexually promiscuous.Techniques used by Joyce, changing the weather and the man being gap-toothed, all enhance the stories because they provide hidden instruction that brings to light the themes of each story. In the next story, Araby, the major theme is infatuation versus love. Joyce begins the story by informing his readers that North Richmond Street, being blind (21) was the bridle-path the boys school was on. The name blind is referring to t he street, meaning it was a dead-end street, but it also has a different, deeper meaning.Joyce uses the word to also describe the boys feelings towards a female child and to his dead-end relationship with the girl he is infatuated with. From the opening sentence Joyce gives his readers and idea of what to expect from his stories. Examining the term gives a deeper meaning that enhances the story. At the boys home, The wild garden behind the house contained a central apple tree and arusty bicycle affectionateness (21). The apple-tree symbolizes Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, self-deception followed by self-knowledge. The bicycle pump symbolizes the kids pumped up, full of hot air, fascination with the girl and then being deflated.The apple tree and bicycle pump are clues to the outcome of the story. The boy also discovers three important and symbolic books in his house. The abbot is about the worship of a special lady, The Devout Communicant is about worship and The Memoirs of Vidocq is a detective story that usually ends with the truth being revealed. All three stories are hinting at what will happen to the boy at the end of the story. The boy goes to Araby, a market of goods from all over the world, to buy the girl a gift in order to prove his love to her, but when he finally gets there the markets closing in ten minutes.The boy heard a voice call from one end of the gallery that the light was out (27). Joyce frequently uses light to symbolize an epiphany or realization. In this case, the boy realizes the girl does not really have feelings for him as he had convinced himself to believe. The light provides the reader with the moment the boy finally realizes he was a putz driven and derided by vanity (28). The light is the changing from self-deception to self-knowledge. Eveline is the story of a girl who is torn between leaving to start a innovative tone and staying in Dublin with her father.In her home was a broken harmonium (30), which is used by Jo yce to symbolize there is no harmony in Evelines home because of her drunken, abusive father. A photograph of a priest hung on the wall above the broken harmonium (30). Whenever Eveline would ask her father about him he used to say, He is in Melbourne now (30). The priest is symbolic because he was able to do what Eveline cant, escape Ireland. While waiting for the man she is leaving with Eveline could hear a street organ playingremind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could (30-31).The organ playing reminds Eveline of her mother and she does not want that life of commonplace sacrifices closing in final craziness (31). She knows that she must escape with Frank, but when it comes season to get on the boat she gripped both hands at the iron railing (34). The symbolism of Eveline holding on the metal bars paints a promiscuous picture of someone in jail trapped in Ireland. Next is the story, titled Two Gallants, of two arrogant men who have no admire for women and only use them as a means to their happiness.Joyce uses symbolism in the story to talk about the poor give-and-take of Ireland and also the poor treatment of these girls by the two men, Corley and Lenehan. Before the two men met up with the innocent girl the weather changed from a nice day to cloudy, symbolic of something bad that is about to take place. At one point during the story when the men were walking down the road a harpist stood in the roadway, playing to a elfin ring of listenersHis harp too, heedless that her coverings had fall about her knees, seemed weary alike of the eyes of strangers and of her masters hands (48).The harp is symbol associated by the people of Ireland with their country. The term strangers was a code word used by the Irish for the British. The quote is making reference to the rape of the harp by saying it was unaware that her coverings had fallen about her knees (48). Joyce is talking about the rape of Ireland by the British, but he is also describing the girls being played, like the harp, by Corley and Lenehan. The symbolism connected with the harp helps show Joyces feelings towards Britain and the many men of Ireland who act as Corley and Lenehan do.Without the symbolism of the harp we would have never known about Joyces feelings towards these important topics. The title, Two Gallants, is also important. The term gallant means to be brave, courteous, and chivalrous, but in the story Corley and Lenehan dont act as two gallants should. Joyce does this on purpose because nearly men of Dublin act as Corley and Lenehan do, and Joyce wants us to know that these two men, and the men of Dublin, did not treat women with respect, as one should. Ivy Day In the Committee fashion deals with Irish politics. Ivy is an evergreen and symbolizes loyalty to Ireland and loyalty to the ideas of Parnell.The poem read by Joe Henchy at the end of the story, titled The Death of Parnell (131), makes the connection to what the title is referring to. In the poem, Parnell is described as Irelands Uncrowned King (131). It goes on to read Shame on the coward caitiff hands/ That smote their master key of with a kiss/ Betrayed him to the rabble-rout/ Of fawning priests no friends of his (132). That part of the poem is talking about how Parnell was thrown out by his own people. By saying the people smote their Lord with a kiss (132), the poem is making a clear connection between the people of Ireland and Judas, the betrayer of Jesus.The title, Ivy Day In the Committee Room, is describing the loyalty to Ireland, and Parnell, by a few remaining people. The title gives a clue to what the story is about, but its not until the end when Joe Henchy reads his poem that we know exactly what the title is referring to. Both the title and the poem take the short story from being good to great. The symbolism used in the title is reveled at the end and again shows Joyces feelings toward the Irish, in this case t he government. The poem enhances the story because its not until the poem is read that we become aware of what the title is actually referring to.corpse is a sad story about a woman, Maria, who is old and unattractive. It is Hallows Eve and everyone is participating in games. One of the games played involves being blindfolded and led up to a table with four saucers. The saucers contained a prayer book, a ring, water, or carcass and symbolized something that was to happen in the future. The prayer book meant a life of the church, a ring symbolized marriage, water represented a voyage or journey and clay was symbolic of death. When it was Marias turn, she symbolically picked clay.Joyce writes, She mat a soft wet substance with her fingers and was surprised that nobody spoke or took off her bandage (101). The clay symbolizes death and so Maria still that it was wrong that time and so she had to do it over again and this time she got the prayer book (101). Because the clay symbolized death and the prayer book symbolized a life in the church, Maria was to live the remaining years of her life with nobody and eventually die alone. The title enhances the story because at first it is unclear what clay actually means, but at the end of the story it all comes together.At the end of the story Maria is singing I Dreamt that I Dwelt, and when she came to the second rhyme she sang again (102) the first verse. Maria unconsciously skipping the second verse of the song symbolizes her life of loneliness and shows that she has given up on dreaming about love. Maria has accepted her fate and no longer believes that maybe someday she will find love. In conclusion, Dubliners was written by James Joyce to show the problems with Dublin. Joyce uses symbolism to illuminate the themes of the story. Throughout the stories the symbolism helps explain and reinforce the themes of each story.