The Dubliners

Assigned stories to read:
• The Sisters
• An Encounter
• Araby
• Eveline
• Two Gallants
• Boarding House
• The Dead

You can read them all if they want.

The Dubliners: Journal Topics
1) Keep track of all of the lighting effects in “Two Gallants.” Look at the contrast between the light of the moon and the light of the streetlamp. What effects does this have on the story? You might also contrast his use of this symbol with the way that Chopin uses various kinds of light.

2) Many readers of Joyce have initially been frustrated by stories in which they say “nothing happens.” Did you have this reaction? What kinds of stories is Joyce trying to substitute for the “big” ones? If you have read Ibsen or Chekhov, you might compare what thy have done in their plays to these stories.

3) In “The Dead” Joyce “enriches meaning with epiphanies, symbolic objects, settings and poses.” Give three or four examples of this and explain their effect on the story.