The Dead

James Joyce
 Title:
The Dead

General
Author:
James Joyce

information
Book:
Dubliners

Date:
1914
James Augustine Joyce
February 2nd, 1882.
Dublin, Ireland.
* In 1898, Joyce began studying modern languages
at the Royal University (now University College,
Dublin). During his time at university Joyce
published several papers on literature, history, and
politics.

* 1904 He began to work on his short story

collection Dubliners (1914)

* Zurich- English teacher with the Berlitz School.

James Augustine Joyce
In 1914, thanks to the enthusiasm of fellow Modernist Ezra Pound, Dubliners was
serialised in the Egoist, a literary journal. Later that year, Dubliners was finally
published as a novel by Grant Richards.

He died on January 13, 1941, Zürich, Switzerland.

The 20th century
First half of the 20th century was a good era for short stories. Literally hundreds of
writers publish thousands of excellent short stories.

Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner suggested that writers often try their hand at
poetry, find it too difficult, go on to the next most demanding form, the short story,
fail at that, and only then settle for the novel.

Germany, France, Russia, USA lost their exclusive domination of

the form: Prague; Franz Kafka, Argentina; Jorge Luis Borges.
The 20th century
As the familiarity with these short stories increased, their form itself became more
varied and complex. The fundamental means of structuring a story experienced a
significant change.

The short story became the favoured form of a smaller but intellectually more
demanding readership.
The dead
The largest story in Dubliners. It is long enough to be considered as a novel.

Final story in the collection.

It is considered his best short work and a masterpiece of a modern fiction.

“The Dead, the final story in James Joyce’s Dubliners, builds from a casual mention
of the death and snow early in the story to a culminating
paragraph that links them in a profound vision.”
- Arlen J Hansen
 Characters

Gabriel
Gretta Kate and Molly Ivors
Conroy
The principal Conroy Julia Morkan A young guest at the
point-of-view Gabriel’s wife, and the Gabriel's aunts and the party, who espouses the
character. He is the object of his sincerest hostesses of the party. younger generation’s
nephew of the party’s affection. They have grown old, politics. That's why
hostesses. He is and Gabriel worries she doesn't get along
professor and they will die soon. with Gabriel.
intellectual.
 Characters

Michael Lily Freddy Mr. Browne

Furey She is Miss Kate's and Malins A guest.
He doesn't physically Miss Julia's servant. He is a friend of
appear in the story, Gabriel.
but he plays an
important role.
Literary Elements
● 3rd person narration
● Epiphany
○ interior monologue, stream of consciousness
● Description of actions
● Direct speech - realism
● Characterization
○ gestures, language, physical appearance, behaviour
● Symbolism to the death
● Power of social norms
ACTIVITY TIME!
Activity
● Read the next fragment and analyse the situation described in it.
● Using the next fragment, work in teams to create a modern adaptation of the
scene.
● Perform your adaptation as it was a radio novel.
importance
We think the work is relevant in
our times because the characters
are developed gradually during
as the story is read, this gives the
reader information about each
member of the story, they role in
it, and even what they think or
feel.
Also, it is related to some
mentioned elements that
describe one’s person identity, in
this case, the Irish identity is
mentioned.
CONCLUSION
Despite the reading is a short story, it
has a wider idea that passes the
brevity of a common one. That’s why
we found the use of epiphany, which
based on details, we could see the
moment of truth that hits the character.
“So she had had that romance in her life: a
man had died for her sake. It hardly pained
him now to think how poor a part he, her
husband, had played in her life.”
References
● (n.d.). James Joyce: A Biography. Retrieved from
http://writersinspire.org/content/james-joyce-biography
● (n.d.). Ulysses. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Joyce/Ulysses
● https://www.britannica.com/art/short-story/The-20th-century
● Joyce, J. (2018). Dubliners. 1st ed. Mumbai: Wilco, pp.180-233.