Joyce 10/8

In her short story, “The Dead”, the differences between Gabriel and his family are evident. His encounters with Miss Ivors represents the rejection of his culture and his past. I believe that “dead” in the story constitute the past as the living represent the future. Gabriel wants change in the present to depict the future because as he says times are changing and not always for the good. His interaction with Miss Ivors proves to be the gap between the past and the present. The past being Gabriel’s Irish culture and Miss Ivors view of the world and the present being Gabriel’s realization that he is tired of his culture and the past and wants to move on to the present with a new culture. When Miss Ivors calls Gabriel a “Brit”, she realizes Gabriel has terminated his relationship with his culture and has assimilated to the new culture of British controlled Ireland.