Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The Dead Part 1
The novel The Dead by James Joyce seems to reflect certain feelings the author had towards his home country, Ireland. The character Gabriel Conroy might act as a reflection of Joyce's own feelings. Gabriel expresses his ideas that Ireland is not the only country of worth, and that he does not feel the need to constantly be in awe of it or speaking only of it. He doesn't understand why the Irish believe it is all or nothing, you can either be for Irish independence or you are basically a British traitor. If I were in Gabriel's position I might be unreasonably annoyed too that things were made to be so cut-and-dry and I would probably like for people to shut up about Ireland for a bit as well.
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I think this is an interesting reading of the piece. I think a lot of authors question nationality because it is, in many cases, a bit of a ridiculous concept. It causes people who would otherwise have no problem with each other to form conceptions about other individuals based soley on their nationality. Gabriel's reaction to this avid nationality seems to be cynical. However, once he realizes that his relationship with Gretta was not what he had originally planned or thought, I think he starts questioning a lot of his ideals, not only about love and passion but also about nationality as well. Though I'm not sure he changes his views about his annoyance with this obsession with Irish pride, his change in outlook on life definitely affects all his previously held beliefs.
ReplyDeleteSo I take it that you were a little irked by the abundant nationalism? I did notice that as well myself, and while I can understand and even sympathize with it, back in the time that Joyce is writing about nationalism was something that almost everyone had. It would actually be quite strange for people to openly dislike their countries, but I do know that today that people have become much more liberal where opinions are concerned. Everyone in the world is able to say whatever they want about the country, and no one will have to be punished.
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