How Is Gabriel Presented In The Dead
Chan Ho Wing Zoe 3035485584
ENGL1041 FINAL ESSAY
James Joyce’s “ The Dead” conveys the main character Gabriel’s failure to act and move forwards due to his obsession with the impression he leaves on others as well as his desire to have everything in control. The story suggests Gabriel’s extreme consciousness, especially about himself, is the main cause for his struggle between stagnation and change, which gradually creates a state of paralysis that he is physically alive but yet spiritually dead.
Within the story, Gabriel is portrayed as a man who is very sensitive about his own identity. He considers himself or at least strives to give others an impression that he is an intellectual who is well-educated, and yet Gabriel’s “ sense of superior …show more content…
In terms of Gabriel’s speech, one of the biggest reasons for his anxiety is that he thinks that he may be laughed by others if the speech is not “intellectually good” enough while at the same time he worries the lines “ would be above the heads of his hearers” (4), giving people an impression that he is trying to show off his intellectual level. This kind of inner struggle within Gabriel makes him even more undecided about his speech, in which he even “ took no part in the conversation” (25) during dinner but simply cares about his speech instead. A state of spiritual paralysis can be found in Gabriel for his failure to connect with others that he is within his own world, worrying about his speech when others are talking about the opera company at the Theatre Royal , and most importantly Gabriel fell in a stage of stagnation as he is not sure if the lines of his speech is good and genuine enough from the views of others.
ENGL1041 FINAL ESSAY
James Joyce’s “ The Dead” conveys the main character Gabriel’s failure to act and move forwards due to his obsession with the impression he leaves on others as well as his desire to have everything in control. The story suggests Gabriel’s extreme consciousness, especially about himself, is the main cause for his struggle between stagnation and change, which gradually creates a state of paralysis that he is physically alive but yet spiritually dead.
Within the story, Gabriel is portrayed as a man who is very sensitive about his own identity. He considers himself or at least strives to give others an impression that he is an intellectual who is well-educated, and yet Gabriel’s “ sense of superior …show more content…
In terms of Gabriel’s speech, one of the biggest reasons for his anxiety is that he thinks that he may be laughed by others if the speech is not “intellectually good” enough while at the same time he worries the lines “ would be above the heads of his hearers” (4), giving people an impression that he is trying to show off his intellectual level. This kind of inner struggle within Gabriel makes him even more undecided about his speech, in which he even “ took no part in the conversation” (25) during dinner but simply cares about his speech instead. A state of spiritual paralysis can be found in Gabriel for his failure to connect with others that he is within his own world, worrying about his speech when others are talking about the opera company at the Theatre Royal , and most importantly Gabriel fell in a stage of stagnation as he is not sure if the lines of his speech is good and genuine enough from the views of others.