When I first began reading "The Dead", I thought it was about Gabriel's search for or lack of identity in the midst of his proud Irish community, whom he secretly resents. It is very evident that he doesn't fit in, and that he longs to be somewhere else, a part of something that is not bogged down with the traditional Irish culture of his hometown. "I'm sick of my own country, sick of it!"(154). Although he sets himself apart in many ways from his Irish counterparts, he still longs to be accepted and admired by the people whom he looks down upon. "They would think that he was airing his superior education. He would fail with them just as he had failed with the girl in the pantry"(145). However the theme of the story is somehow related to acknowledging, reverencing, or remembering those who have passed on. Gabriel makes several references to the dead, for example his mother, those famed people whom he mentioned in his speech, and his wife's old lover Michael. Though there seems to be an underlying message behind his connection with the world of the dead versus the world of the living, I'm not exactly sure how this relates to the story and what the reader is supposed to take from it.
Although Gabriel feels disconnected from his culture and people, I think he is very drawn to Ireland the place because he makes various in depth descriptions of the land and his surroundings. He seems to appreciate his homeland in this aspect and this presents some ambiguity concerning his true feelings about the place that he grew up in. His language almost sounds reminiscent, as if he has left Ireland and is thinking back on his experiences. Although there seems to be some strain on the relationship between him and his wife, I thought it was so beautiful the way that he admired her and esteemed her throughout their time spent together. Even at the end of the night when his desires are denied and she tells him of a past lover who she still holds dear to her heart, he shows compassion and patience towards her and turns his attention from his needs to hers.
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I like where you're going with your analysis of how the story relates to the dead. When I first started reading the story, it didn't really make much sense to me why the story was called "The Dead," but having read the ending, it seems that Gabriel is overcome by a haunting notion of his life and his worldview in the context not only of all those who live around him, but of those who have ever lived in his home country and lived the same way: are they wiser? Do they simply represent an even bigger mob of blind followers? How should they be treated in the present? It's a very hard thing to say how dead people should be talked about after they're gone--it has a lot to do with one's beliefs regarding what life is really about, and it's completely removed from any other sort of discussion of any other person.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with your analysis of Gabriel's relationship with Ireland. Initially, it seems that Ireland was not enough for Gabriel, as he felt that he was superior to its people and culture. He also felt that his travels to other countries were more important than the exploration of his own. I think his appreciation for his native country is shown at the very end of the story, when Gabriel says he planned to "travel west," which I assumed meant further travel in Ireland. I wonder if this love/hate relationship Gabriel seems to have with Ireland mirrors Joyce's own relationship with his native country?
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