Irish literature at its best. This complex series of intelocking yet independent stoyies gives the reader a complete view of irish life durring that period. My favoret has to be the dead where biblical imagery and the decline of irish tradition cause Michael to leave his self centered view of his life.

Dubliners is a collection of short stories by one of the finest writers in the twentieth-century, James Joyce. The stories in the collection have a natural progression, where they start from being about a characters childhood to adolescence to adulthood. The stories also have a sense of their characters in them. Araby, one of the stories about a characters childhood, is written from the point-of-view of the character and gives the stories a sense of authenticity, which is captured through the rest of the stories as well, even if they are not in first-person. My two favorite stories in the collection though are Eveline and The Dead, which must be considered one of the most profound short stories ever written. Eveline is basically the story of a girl trying to make a decision between the life she knows and the man she loves. It’s such a beautifully written story and I felt that I could actually get a sense of the feelings that she was feeling and the thoughts and decisions she was throwing around in her head. However, as many would agree, it’s The Dead that makes this collection stand out above many other anthologies of short stories. The gripping nature of the story and the emotions conveyed by the characters are so moving and so realistic that you can’t help but fall for the characters and want everything to work out. It is a perfect way to wrap up such a perfect compilation of works.

James Joyce’s Dubliners are tales that depict how life is/was for Ireland. His stories are filled with a variety of characters who add colour to each one of the stories. For example, in the boarding house, Mrs. Mooney as a strict madam adds a semi villain to the story. I thought that the book Dubliners was hard to put down. This is because James Joyce captures his reader with starting the story not in the beginning but right in the middle. This makes the reader unsure of whom the characters are. Therefore, the reader must continue reading in order to figure this out. As well as hooking the reader, Joyce also shows a range of emotions in his story. In Araby it is a little boy who must deal with disappointment, in both Eveline and The Boarding house are emotions of Love and Loss. It is because these emotions are present in daily life that the reader finds it easier to relate to the characters and care about them. Each story brings a unique veiw point on the emotions that we are faced with in daily life. In conclution, I found Dubliners to be interesting and informative. I found that it was a window into the daily life of the people of Dublin.

No one as yet like James Joyce, whose linguistic talent has such an extrodinary effect on how I redefine life. It is not just about the Dubliners, but rather, each and everyone of us. The book itself examined the deepest part of our emotions and desires, and thus awakes us from the long sleep we all have been put into by the hands of routine. We have been chained up by it for so long, living in the paralysis without even realizing it ourselves. And this is the book that hints us. Reading this book is not far from holding up a piece of mirror and see the reflections of ourselves through it.

I began reading this book of short stories as part of my CEGEP program. I was immediately hooked after reading "Eveline". These are some of the most beautiful and touching stories that I have ever read! This book has turned me on to short stories and has opened my eyes to the wonders of books!