Sources

“United States v. One Book Called Ulysses,” www.wikipedia.org

"James Joyce" www.wikipedia.org

Stream of Consciousness  http://modernism.research.yale.edu/data_wiki/data_wiki.php?action=object&value=27&title=James_Joyce

"A Little Cloud" Analysis

“A Little Cloud” emphasizes the theme of being trapped in one’s own life. Gallaher forces Little Chandler to realize that he has trapped himself. Gallaher and Little Chandler caught up in a bar one night and chatted for a while about life. While Gallaher talked about the multiple adventures he had encountered, it made Little Chandler realize that he is envious of Gallaher’s free, exciting, romantic life. Ever since Little Chandler married his wife Annie, he has been trapped in a stressful, hard relationship. As all of this came flooding back to him, he realizes Annie doesn’t act passionately towards him, and there is hardly any love in their relationship. At one point, Gallaher says, "I'm going to have my fling first and see a bit of life and the world before I put my head in the sack - If I ever do." Gallaher compares marriage to "putting your head in the sack" (76). He wants to be able to explore the world before he gets married, because once he marries he will be confined and devoted to their life together. Towards the end of the conversation, Gallaher cries out, "But I'm in no hurry. They can wait. I don't fancy tying myself up to one woman, you know" (77). Gallaher is trying to point out to Little Chandler that he is stuck with one woman for the rest of his life, and he has no room for thrill and excitement. Gallaher has freedom, adventure, romance, escape, and Little Chandler is stuck wanting what he doesn’t have. At one point in the story, Little Chandler gets so frustrated with his life that he yells at his infant to be quiet. Annie overhears this and they get into yet another fight. As Little Chandler questions their marriage, he wonders what could have been if he had remained “free” of marriage.

"The Boarding House" Analysis

“The Boarding House” stresses the idea of being trapped in one’s own life because Mr. Doran becomes trapped after one mistaken night with Polly. Mr. Doran is a young man boarding in Polly Mooney’s mother’s boarding house. Polly flirts with the men, but Mrs. Mooney thinks nothing of it, she knows the men are just “passing the time away” (58). Eventually, though, Mrs. Mooney starts to notice something unusual going on between Polly and Mr. Doran. After observing the couple for some time, Mrs. Mooney finally deems it the "right time" to intervene. Knowing that neither youth nor ignorance could be pleaded as his excuse, Mrs. Mooney was “sure she would win” (59). Mr. Doran had “taken advantage of Polly’s youth and inexperience” (59), and for that, he would pay a reparation. The lone reparation that satisfies Mrs. Mooney is marriage. Mrs. Mooney felt confident she would be able to convince Mr. Doran to offer his hand in marriage to her daughter. Having gained much respect after working for 13 years in a wine-merchant’s office, Mr. Doran wouldn’t want to risk publicity of the affair for the possibility of a job loss. Meanwhile, Mr. Doran is anticipating the meeting because he knows he has only two options: running away, or marrying Polly. He realizes he is being trapped into marriage. Before Mr. Doran meets with Mrs. Mooney, he and Polly talk, and they both helplessly sat and cried to each other. After comforting Polly, Mr. Doran made his way to the living room to talk with her mother. Apparently, Mr. Doran is trapped into marrying Polly, for Mrs. Mooney seems highly satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. Neither Polly nor Mr. Doran wants marriage, but Mrs. Mooney forces the marriage because of their affair. All it took was one mistake to cause Mr. Doran to be trapped into a marriage with Polly Mooney.

"Eveline" Analysis

“Eveline” underlines the theme of being trapped in one’s own life. Eveline traps herself in Dublin because she is hesitant to leave the place she knows best, despite her abusive father. Eveline is given the chance to free herself from her exhausting work schedule needed to support her family. Desiring to marry Eveline, Frank invites her to go off to Buenos Ayres to start over together. After her favorite brother and her mother died, and her other brother has moved away, Eveline finds herself stuck with her previously abusive father. Initially, she jumps at the thought of getting away from everything. “Escape! She must escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live. Why should she be unhappy” (33)? She is excited, but also anxious, about the decision she originally made. Although she is eager to escape Dublin, Eveline is somewhat hesitant of leaving with Frank and finds herself second-guessing her decision. She “prayed to God to direct her, to show her what was her duty” (33). Eveline’s “distress awoke a nausea in her body” (34). Surprisingly, as the boat leaves for Buenos Ayres, Eveline makes her decision and stays in her hometown of Dublin to remain with her father. Even though Eveline is not completely satisfied with her life in Dublin with her father, she is doubtful of leaving to marry Frank in Buenos Ayres.

Biography of James Joyce

James Joyce was born on February 2, 1882, and was the oldest of 10 children. After graduating from University College in London, James Joyce intended to study medicine in Paris, but he was called home because of his mother’s serious illness. While he was looking after her, he met his future partner Nora. In 1904, Joyce published three stories under the name 'Stephen Daedalus' and began work on Stephen Hero, an autobiographical novel that was published posthumously. A Portrait Of The Artist Of A Young Man (1916) is a rewrite of Stephen Hero. Joyce’s first child, a boy named Giorgio, was born in 1905. Two years later, his daughter, Lucia, was born. He began work on Dubliners in 1905, and the book was published nine years later in 1914. In addition to Dubliners and A Portrait Of The Artist Of A Young Man, James Joyce is well known for Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake (1939), which were written in a stream-of-consciousness style. Joyce’s first public outing with Nora on June 16, 1904, became the setting for his most famous novel, Ulysses (1922).  That date also became the basis of Bloomsday, which was first celebrated in 1954 and inspires people to dress up in 1904-attire and reenact scenes of Ulysses. Involved in a censorship trial, called United States vs. One Book Called Ulysses (1933), the book was later classified not obscene.   Soon after getting married to Nora in 1931, Joyce's father died. James Joyce died ten years later, on January 13, 1941.

Overview

In this blog, I will be writing about James Joyce's Dubliners. I will write a short biography on James Joyce and closely analyze three of the short stories, "Eveline", "The Boarding House", and "A Little Cloud". First published in 1914, Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories written by James Joyce and describes the life in Dublin in the twentieth century. The stories were written during the rise of Irish Nationalism. The book starts out with child narrators, and as Dubliners progresses, the characters in the stories are older in age. I am focusing on three stories, and I will be deeply analyzing them. I found a common theme between the three short stories I am focusing on: being trapped in one's own life. In "Eveline", Eveline is trapped in Dublin, where she is most comfortable, despite her rough past. In "The Boarding House", Mr. Doran finds himself trapped into a marriage with Polly after one slip up with her. Lastly, in "A Little Cloud", Little Chandler finds himself trapped in his own boring life, lacking romance, adventure, and freedom. Enjoy!