In “Structure and Sympathy in Joyce’s ‘The Dead’”, C. Gabriel relayed the story of his uncle riding a mill horse around this statue to mirthful guests in 'The Dead' As he watches the snow covering Ireland and imagines it blanketing the boy’s grave, Gabriel feels his soul dying and identity slipping away.

Gabriel feels inadequate compared to this boy and sorrowful because he realizes he has never truly experienced love. She tells him about a boy who died because he loved her. Upon leaving, Gabriel begins to feel lustful and jealous towards his wife. He highlights the greatest Irish tradition: hospitality. Ivor leaves, Gabriel relaxes, delivering a rousing dinner speech.

She castigates him for writing a literary column for an English paper that maligns Irish independence and vacationing on the Continent instead of Ireland. Ivor for a dance, Gabriel faces her incessant questions about his fealty to Ireland. He contemplates his family, reminiscing about his mother’s ambition, which pushed him into University, and pomposity, which led her to disdain his wife’s humble origins. He worries about the superciliousness of his toast. His agitation continues throughout the night. Flustered, he gives her an extravagant tip. While checking his coat, Gabriel tries to be friendly towards Lily, the maid, only to have her reply bitterly to his attempt at amicability. James Joyce’s “The Dead” is the story of Gabriel Conroy, a man who has arrived late to his aunts’ annual Christmas soiree in Dublin.

The dead james joyce analysis