Symbolism and Social Identity in Dubliners by Joyce

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One of the main reasons why Dubliners represents one of the best literary works to address the notion of symbolism in James Joyces work is the existence of numerous paradigms, such as Irish trauma, isolation, social paralysis, and poverty. Therefore, it can be safe to say that the social identity of the Irish was carefully covered by Joyce in most of the short stories in Dubliners. From family to religion, there are numerous topics that the author operates on in order to utilize symbolism freely and see how an identity crisis is met by different members of Irish society. At the time when Dubliners was published in 1914, Irish society suffered from a strong crisis that was backed by patriotism and the drive for independence and identity.

It was an essential problem for James Joyce to reinvent the Irish identity through literature, so it was necessary for him to utilize symbolism to address some of the issues. In a sense, Dubliners is a work about awareness, desires, and actions that ultimately contributed to the Irish gaining their social and cultural identity. Even though there are various metaphors for independence, the author of the current paper is going to look into Dubliners to find out how symbolism contributed to the Irish overcoming the identity crisis. With the aid of four short stories from Dubliners The Sisters, The Dead, The Araby, and An Encounter the author intends to cover the aspect of Irish social identity and norms as being discovered through the interface of symbols concerning Ireland and the Irish as a nation.

The Sisters is one of the most critiquing parts of Dubliners because it plays around with religious and ethical topics that touch upon everyday life and individual struggles. One of the main tasks for the characters in The Sisters is to find a believable truth and side with it. The topic of social conformity runs through the novel, and Joyce tries to highlight the established beliefs that might have a negative effect on the Irish. Nevertheless, The Sisters represents one large symbol hinting at the Irish social identity through ideology and language: We blessed ourselves and came away (Joyce). It is shown by the author that the main characters of the story hardly try to overturn the existing ideological structures (Eskandari 313). For the most part, it happens because Irish morality and national identity have already shaped them into obedient members of the community who do not object or revolt before the situation reaches the worst possible outcomes. This is why Joyce introduces the character of Nannie in The Sisters, a clumsy personality that has trouble interacting with others.

The symbol that Joyce tries to convey in The Sisters is the passive nature of the Irish nature that averts local people from changing their lives for the better. Throughout the story, Nannie tends to sit behind her sister, which displays her inherent obedience and the lack of somewhat of a rebel character. This portrayal is also accompanied by Nannies visual clumsiness because she tends to dress awkwardly, which is another nod to the Irish and their lack of confidence and unwillingness to stand out among others (Roos 215). Throughout The Sisters, Nannies behavior becomes more and more inappropriate. At a certain point, she even falls asleep in front of guests: Nannie had leaned her head against the sofa-pillow and seemed about to fall asleep (Joyce). Not only is this a stereotypical view of female characters in Dubliners, but this is a hint at how the Irish circumscribed themselves to remain passive and comforting. Similar to contemporary women, Irish people functioned as servants to the cultural imperatives that made them passive and unwilling to transform their everyday lives.

In An Encounter, Joyce also exploits the topic of paralysis to reach valuable, detailed social identity representations. The characters in this story pursue only one objective to escape their routine lives and fight the boredom. Nevertheless, their adventure-seeking behaviors get overshadowed quickly by their willingness to remain obedient and turn their back on anything that might separate them from the routine (Gaeini et al. 96). Joyce portrays the main characters of the story as young schoolboys to develop an understanding of how the Irish are learning to endure the routine from the very childhood: When we were tired of this sight we wandered slowly into Ringsend (Joyce). The topic of creating excitement is one of the most often addressed in Joyces writing, so it is crucial to look at the main characters as a symbol of the Irish people. Thus, An Encounter criticizes the whole Irish society because of its keenness on remaining in isolation and maintaining a passive stance.

Therefore, An Encounter portrays the Irish as a nation of overthinkers who miss out on the majority of their opportunities because of ignoring the importance of changing the routine. The young schoolboys skip school to visit the The Pigeon House in Dublin (Ferhi and Zerar 277). Upon their arrival, the boys are confronted by a strange old man who eventually scares them with his creepiness and weird questions. The main characters of the story start feeling uneasy and come up with fake names in order to protect themselves from any drastic consequences of talking to the weird old man: I saw him walking slowly away from us towards the near end of the field (Joyce). The narrator experiences a natural speech paralysis when he hears that the weird old man fantasizes about spanking one of the boys. In a sense, the story shows that the Irish are discouraged from changing their lives because they expect that something bad is going to happen to them.

The inability to access a new, healthy routine disrupts the lives of those willing to pursue their dreams and go to Dublin to find all the answers. This is why Joyce criticizes the Irish and makes it tangible that the majority of them were too obedient to escape the burden of the old routine. Even though his use of symbols is too lopsided in An Encounter and does not leave room for any alternatives, the overall mood is evident. As soon as the Irish recognize that the old routine is not as dangerous, they will never try to change their lives again in the future: We were serious to the point of solemnity (Joyce). Regardless, the idea is that no one should let the circumstances affect their change-related decisions, especially if those decisions are aimed at transforming ones life and pursuing unconventional desires. As a voluntary exile, Joyce could have written An Encounter to motivate the Irish to leave Dublin and pursue their dreams somewhere else.

The Araby is a short story written by James Joyce to showcase the importance of contemporary Ireland not being represented properly. The presence of historical and geographic specifics ultimately separated Ireland from the rest of the world. This is why Joyce often touches upon the topic of socializing agency and capitalizes on the idea of displacement as an essential contributor to the development of national identity (Maniee and Mansouri 205). Thus, the problem of national representation becomes a unique mix of obstacles related to achievements and a common vision that unites the Irish. With Joyces help, the representation of social identity goes beyond the aesthetics of politics. This means that Ireland is seen by Joyce as a realm that has been overpowered by political movements that did not bring any real value to the table. Accordingly, The Araby is a symbolic short story because it dwells on how politics absorb individuals and make it harder to escape the day-to-day struggle of Irish politics.

In The Araby, Joyce capitalizes on how the Irish society became politicized and craved to participate in the socio-economic life of the country. Prior to discussing the symbols in this short story, it is important to contextualize the findings by pointing out how Joyce epitomizes modernization. When he describes modern Ireland, he often resorts to the sentiments of hindrance and disturbance (Jok 324). Joyce ultimately considers contemporary Ireland to be a failure due to the increasing stagnation and stillness that were linked to the English pressure and other atrocities. Without a certain direction, the Irish society had to go through a state of paralysis that was preceded by a complete spiritual void. In Dubliners, quite a few characters struggle with different types of paralysis because they are either unable or unwilling to break the vicious circle and avoid routine actions in the future. Instead of pursuing dreams, characters tend to live their common lives and give in to the routine.

Overall, The Araby contains some of the best figurative examples hinting at the lack of social identity in the Irish. Joyce introduces the readers to three female characters the boys love interest, the boys aunt, and the stall attendant. The boy is the narrator of the story who experiences frustration throughout the story, with each of the characters being a representation of a certain paralysis (Heininge 268). For example, the stall attendant and the narrators love interest are mere symbols of people not being able to escape the system. They are treated as sexual objects, with no right or willingness to alter the state of affairs and gain freedom. This is a hint at contemporary Irish politics. Joyce uses female characters to strengthen the effect of this symbolic comparison when the narrator visits the bazaar.

For instance, the narrators aunt is an example of a character affected by the lack of social identity because she is barely invested in what goes on around her. When the boy informs her of going to the Araby market for the first time, the aunt is surprised. The only subject that concerns her is if it is not some kind of Freemason affair (Joyce 3). This is a slight hint at how many people overlook what goes on around them in order to remain engaged in their own routine. The Araby was written by Joyce to highlight the importance of keeping up with the latest updates in the area of politics in order to avoid stagnation. The narrators aunt is the biggest symbol of social identity malfunction because she does not care about anything except her routine. Thus, Joyce appeals to the audience by highlighting the fact that the aesthetics of politics cannot be overlooked when one expects to change their life and achieve something new.

Based on how Joyce describes the Irish in The Dead, it can be concluded that the main characters of the story are trapped in routine, just like any other characters from The Araby, The Sisters, and An Encounter. During one of the monologues taking place in The Dead, the spokesman touches upon the topic of the annual parties being an opportunity to trap the guests and make them dependent on such hospitality (Fuchs 281). This is a symbol of the Irish remaining seriously contingent on how England treated them throughout the years with no chance to break the routine. Thus, each of the guests visiting the aunts house is an Irish person depending on the mainland. The Dubliners seem to approve of this connection because they have no other choice but to accept their association with the English. Joyce carefully utilizes this symbol to help the readers recognize the impact of external influence on the Irish.

The biggest hint at the connection between Northern Ireland and England is the story told by Gabriel about a horse named Jonny. Throughout its whole life, it was supposed to pull on the starch mill. It quickly became a habit for the horse, but Johnnys owner decided to go for a ride instead of going to the mill. Nevertheless, when walking near the mill, the horse began walking around the statue of King Billy as if it was supposed to go back to pulling on the starch mill again (Ferhi and Zerar 273). It is a story about a horse that Joyce utilizes to force the audience to read between the lines and recognize how the Dubliners and Britain are interconnected. It shows how the Irish are still turning around the statue even when they have been freed from the routine.

The conclusion that can be made after looking at the symbols left by Joyce throughout The Dead is that Irish people are closely linked to the Mother Land and its impact on their everyday lives. Indeed, the textual evidence in Dubliners indicates an exceptionally strong connection to their native land in the main characters. Specifically, The Dead features an array of details that point t the wistful sense of nostalgia for the native land and the need to reconnect with ones roots. For instance, one of the characters starts speaking in a distinctively Dublin accent when lowering his voice to a whisper (Joyce).

Moreover, the elements of Irish culture are mentioned throughout the story in a seemingly unintentional yet very insistent manner, thus, evoking the sense of nostalgia in the reader and establishing a strong emotional connection between the protagonist and his native land. For instance, during some of the key points in the story, the Irish quadrille is mentioned: A red-faced young woman, dressed in pansy, came into the room, excitedly clapping her hands and crying: Quadrilles! Quadrilles! (Joyce). By rendering the impact that the sounds of the traditional Irish music have on the characters, Joyce manages to convey the full gamut of emotions that the character experiences when remembering his motherland. Remarkably, even though the Irish quadrille is only mentioned in passing, it still adds a unique touch of colorful detail to the portrait of the protagonists native land, thus, allowing the reader to picture it and relate to the protagonists longing for reconnecting with his roots.

Thus, at any given moment, the Irish could associate themselves with fish in an aquarium since they did not have to do anything to remain satisfied with their lives. Therefore, the Dubliners are not prone to risking their everyday routine to overcome the consequences of being freed: I felt even annoyed at discovering in myself a sensation of freedom as if I had been freed from something by his death (Joyce). Similar to Jonny, Joyce considered the Dubliners unable to stay away from doing certain things out of habit, even if there were no external forces to impose limitations on them.

In all of the short stories reviewed within the framework of the current essay, the readers could find symbols hinting at the troubles the Irish had attempting to accept their new social identity. The instances of stereotypical thinking and behaviors were included in the stories to show how many Dubliners were not able to become either British or Irish. Thus, Joyce plays around with the main characters cultural incompetence and lack of awareness to hint at the inability of the Dubliners to identify with either Ireland or Britain. The characters are not able to escape the routine because they are not willing to persevere uncertainty and the need to escape paralysis. In a sense, Dubliners is an important literary artwork because it displays the cyclical nature of social identity misrepresentations and their impact on individual citizens and the whole nation.

Works Cited

Eskandari, Safoura. Social and Religion Paralysis in James Joyces Short Story The Sisters: A Cultural Reading. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), vol. 3, no. 1, 2020, pp. 311-320.

Ferhi, Samir, and Sabrina Zerar. James Joyce and Critical Resistance in Dubliners: A Postcolonial Perspective. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, vol. 12, no. 1, 2019, pp. 267-285.

Fuchs, Dieter. James Joyces The Dead and Macrobiuss Saturnalia: The Menippean Encyclopedic Tradition and the Mythical Method. James Joyce Quarterly, vol. 57, no. 3, 2020, pp. 275-292.

Gaeini, Mojgan, et al. The Role of Social Identity in James Joyces Dubliners within the Light of Cultural Materialism. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI-Journal): Humanities and Social Sciences, vol. 2, no. 2, 2019, pp. 89-99.

Heininge, Kathleen. The Way Out of Paralysis: Joyce and the Habitual Present Tense. James Joyce Quarterly, vol. 57, no. 3, 2020, pp. 263-273.

Jok, Laura. Sounds and Impostures: James Joyces Poetic Prose. James Joyce Quarterly, vol. 56, no. 3, 2019, pp. 311-332.

Joyce, James. Dubliners. Gutenberg.

Maniee, Pedram, and Shahriyar Mansouri. A Post-Colonial Study of the Short Story Araby (1914) by James Joyce. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 8, no. 2, 2017, pp. 201-208.

Roos, Bonnie. Spies in Joyces The Sisters: Allegorical Histories, the Irish Rebellion, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Joyce Studies Annual, vol. 2018, no. 1, 2018, pp. 195-233.

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Symbolism and Social Identity in Dubliners by Joyce

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