Ressurection Of The Living Dead Essay Research

Ressurection Of The Living Dead Essay, Research Paper

Resurrection of The Living Dead

What is the difference between the living and the dead. Is simply walking, breathing,

and going through the motions of a living being applicable enough for one to be called

alive, or are such unemotional, detached actions more appropriate for the dead. James

Joyce deals with such questions in the novella The Dead, as he portrays a story of the

living dead, in which the antagonist, Gabriel, comes to the realization of his false

attempts at full livelihood. Through Gabriel, Joyce illuminates the struggles and tensions

that live within the human spirit as he brings about this central theme. As Gabriel attends

Misses Morkan.s annual dance, the full force of Gabriel.s incomplete knowledge of

himself, his country, and his wife, are illuminated. This lack of self becomes obvious to

Gabriel, as he reaches his epiphany towards the end of the story.

As Gabriel is first introduced, he is shown interacting with a symbol of the living dead

– Lily. Lily, the caretaker.s daughter is described as having a .pale complexion.(Joyce

327), implying a deathly state, and her name, no less, is of the flower that is commonly

symbolic of a funeral. In addition to discovering that Lily is no longer in school, Gabriel

discovers that Lily has no intentions of marrying, and for that matter, no intentions of

furthering her life. Hence, she will always be nothing more than the caretaker.s

daughter. As Lily.s tone grew bitter as a result of Gabriel.s prying questions, Gabriel

.coloured. (328) as he was embarrassed the he had insulted her. Gabriel realized both

his failure to appear perfectly agreeable, and the possibility of being inclusive among

those men that Lily denounced — those men she would not marry who were of .all

palaver and what they can get out of you. (328). This remark triggered an uneasy

realization in Gabriel, in that it dawned on him that he too was a man of all palaver and

no action, with intentions that were not always as they seemed. As Gabriel was a man of

all talk and no action, he .talks the talk. that the people want to hear regardless of

whether or not he agrees with what he is saying. In addition, he never openly acts upon

his own ideals, and is therefore a man of no action. And as for intentions, it becomes

evident at the end of the story that Gabriel was clearly not married to his wife out of love,

as in fact he was married to her out of lust. As Gabriel felt like a failure and did not want

to be perceived as anything other than a total success, he thrusted a gold coin into Lily.s

hand in hopes of exiting smoothly from the previously heated situation. Gabriel has

entered into the land of .the dead., as he compromises his true self for the approval of

others, and as he is one step closer to the realization of his own meaningless life.

While Gabriel tries to pass in a world where he is not fully comfortable being himself,

he outwardly pretends to be a someone he is not. He is living this double life in which

his outward self expresses noting of his true inner self. Although it is evident that he

does have opinions of his own, he looks for the approval of others instead of from

himself. Gabriel.s contradiction from within is evident when he contemplates what

quote to center his speech around. As Gabriel pondered, .The indelicate clacking of the

men.s heels and the shuffling of their sole reminded him that their grade of culture

differed from his.. (328). Gabriel thought of himself as an educated man who was far

superior to those bungling men that surrounded him. Gabriel thought .He would only

make himself ridiculous by quoting poetry to them which they could not understand.

(328). Deferring to the lesser educated people at the party, Gabriel chose a simple quote

that everyone would understand, instead of the quote that he truly wanted to use. As

Gabriel tries to be the epitome of all men, he realizes that he must compromise his own

ideals and ways of thinking in order to achieve this status. He can speak as the educated

man that he really is and be as he called himself, .an utter failure. (328), or he can

sacrifice himself and speak to those around him and be a success. Gabriel is stuck

between two conflicting images of who he wants to be — himself, or who others want

him to be.

Because Gabriel has lost touch with his Irish roots he does not wholly understand

himself. He feels Ireland is not as civilized as, for example England, and he therefore

feels too superior to be inwardly comfortable with his old fashioned heritage. Now

Gabriel, on the other hand, was very modern compared to those around him, and he

seemed to keep up with the new trends .on the continent. (330), as he arrived at the party

wearing goloshes. Gabriel was the only person wearing them at the party, and Gabriel.s

Aunt Julia didn.t even know what they were. In addition, Gabriel als

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