Reading Journal : The Dead

    At first glance, James Joyce’s ‘The Dead’ might appear as a story that mainly portrays a conflicted individual and his epiphany that comes along with the climax. Of course, the ordeal of the protagonist itself is so vividly depicted inside the story that it is not strange at all to presume that it is a typical story dealing with an individual. However, this story also has some unique elements that it shares with other stories in Dubliners. Throughout the story, the author tries to connect a struggle of the protagonist, Gabriel, with his surrounding, the Irish society and Dublin. As the final story of Dubliners, The Dead shares its theme with the other stories in Dubliners. The author shows the paralysis and epiphany of Gabriel and draws the parallel with situation of Ireland.
    Gabriel’s life is full of contradictions. He hates his own homeland and senselessly admires the culture of the continent. Gabriel exposes his admiration of the continent during the conversation with Aunt Julia, saying “everyone wears them on the continent.” He rejects the offer of Miss Ivors to visit Aran Isles by saying that Irish is not his language and he is sick of his own country. Although it seems clear that he prefers British culture to Irish culture, he hates to be called as the “West Briton.” Accordingly, what he believed to be a true love was in fact not sincere. 
     At the moment of his epiphany, snow falls down and covers the entire Ireland. Snow could be seen as a symbol that indicates old traditions and contradictions that is covering Ireland. So perhaps it is more accurate dissect “The Dead” with the connection to Ireland. 
    I personally enjoyed the story, especially the final part with the epiphany in which Gabriel finds out that he and his wife were actually not sharing feelings. After the party, he feels desire for a physical relationship, and he assumes that Gretta is feeling the same. However, he faces the unexpected reaction from his wife and the story about her true love. He finally realizes that he and his wife were not actually very different and distant.
     Readers can easily identify with the internal conflict and the epiphany of Gabriel. The Dead depicts the emotion that arises when we are betrayed by things that we so firmly believed to be true. However, these experiences also give us new motivation and serves as a driving force that helps us renew ourselves. For instance, after the epiphany, that his belief that his wife and he shared feelings and were in true live was false, he resolves to set out on his journey westward. Although there is a contention to the interpretation of this phrase, it is very likely that he would change his attitude in a more positive and mature way. Throughout the entire party, he acted like a hysterical and insecure person. At the end of the story, Joyce writes “Generous tears filled Gabriel's eyes. He had never felt like that himself towards any woman, but he knew that such a feeling must be love.” We can see that Gabriel is being repentant and began realizing what a true love is.

Araby - Paragraph Exercise

From a distance, James Joyce’s "Araby" might appear as a short story that focuses on how an individual changes through his love and grasp of reality. After all, when the nameless narrator endeavors to win the love of the girl, he starts to learn how small and negligible he is, and that the world is not as idealistic as he thought. However, on the other hand, the experiences which serve as a momentum of change inside the boy’s mind are so closely related to the society of Dublin, that the interpretation seems incomplete without considering the surrounding. The depiction of the street through which the boy carries the parcels shows the role of Irish society most explicitly. Walking through the flaring streets, the boy is jostled by drunken men and bargaining women, and surrounded by the curses of laborers and the litanies of shop boys. He imagines that he is carrying a chalice through a throng of “foes”. The surrounding seemed hostile to the boy who is carrying a chalice, which represents his purity and ideal. The internal conflict of the narrator is culminated inside Araby, the market. The place is immersed in darkness, and the young lady at the stall is totally apathetic towards him. His fantasy about the market is shattered and the experience makes him feel that what he believed to be sincere and pure was in fact an empty vanity. The values such as purity and beauty are disregarded in the street and the market. Through the experience of the narrator, the author is emphasizing a degraded and vulgar Irish society.

Therefore, it is perhaps more accurate to assume that "Araby" is a criticism against Dublin, the society that has lost its important values. In this sense, “Araby” should be understood in a broader social context, rather than as a story that concentrates on the struggle of an individual.

Reading Journal #2 - The Lady with the Dog

Male Chauvinism was really common when the short story “The Lady with the Dog” was written.  The short story raises the fundamental question, whether an ardent chauvinist could forsake their view and find a true love, and shows how a hypocritical misogynist can change through true love by portraying the love affair between Dmitri Dmitritch Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna.

Dmitri’s duality is strikingly exposed throughout the story. He considers women as a lower race, but he couldn’t get on for two days without women. After his first encounter with Anna, he only worships her slender neck and lovely eyes, and disregards her character by saying “There’s something pathetic about her anyway.” Furthermore, Dmitri reveals his cold and apathetic nature after he sleeps with Anna. While Anna feels guilty and disconsolate, Dmitri cuts a piece of watermelon and eats it without haste. He doesn’t really care about Anna’s inner conflict and only pursues his own pleasures. He even feels bored and irritated by Anna’s naïve tone, which is quite cold-blooded and selfish.

However, Dmitri gradually changes as he sincerely falls in love with pure and innocent Anna. Throughout the story, Anna is portrayed as a young and callow lady who still possesses innocence and purity. When the couple dates at the harbor, Chekhov writes “She talked a great deal and asked disconnected questions, forgetting next moment what she had asked,” which can be interpreted as the typical caprice of a young and immature lady. Her immaturity can also be seen when she mentions that she doesn’t exactly know what her husband does. Her purity is shown most explicitly when she says that she loves a pure, honest life, and sin is loathsome to her.

At first, Dmitri seduces Anna for impure purpose. However, Anna’s purity eventually makes Dmitri feel genuine love and begins to look back on his life in an objective way. He shows series of change in his behavior and thought. While indulging in the natural beauty of Yalta, he thinks that everything is beautiful except the things that we do when we forget our human dignity and higher aims. He is regretting the life he had before he met Anna. Other evidence is shown when Anna leaves Yalta. He was “moved, sad, and conscious of a slight remorse.” He feels guilty that he unwittingly deceived her with his false image.

As the story draws to the end, their secret love affair becomes more plaintive. When Dmitri returns to Moscow, he was not an unfettered philanderer anymore. He is bound to his family, and he needs to endure his wife’s neglect. He tries to brag his secret affair to his friend, but he is neglected again. The more and more he feels sick about his surrounding, the more precious his memory of times spent in Yalta, with Anna. Now, Dmitri sincerely loves Anna. Dmitri make surprise visit to Anna, and confirms Anna’s affection towards him.

The story ends with an open ended conclusion. Chekhov allows readers to expect how the story would end, and provokes the curiosity. We don’t know what hardships and difficulties this secret couple would face. However, we can know for sure that Dmitri is not the same as before, and he would do his best to keep his true love.