— Anonymous
After reading one of the best short stories written by James Joyce, “The Dead”, I felt a personal connection with the text in many ways. I read this in my own room a week after the coronavirus outbreak had forced in-class sessions transition to online seminars. The first thing that I admired was the eloquent writing style in which Joyce had used to depict the setting and characters. The scenes seamlessly transitioned from one to the next and it was as though I was watching a movie in my own mind and I barely realized the passing of time before I finished the story. His description of the minutest details of each moment during the night party reminded me very much of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace which I am currently reading. I believe by literary value alone, it can already be considered a Great Work in of it itself and it certainly does not lose its luster even if compared with the famously descriptive tongue of War and Peace. Besides the good writing (which I think would be worthwhile to imitate) that made this entire story enjoyable, perhaps the deeper meanings behind the plot has elevated the story into a more philosophical realm that forced me to contemplate upon the subjects mentioned in the story. Many themes and symbolism appeared throughout the story and Gabriel was a unique character which I sympathize. Gabriel was portrayed as a educated scholar in the story partly by the high regard the sisters praised him and partly by his speech at the dinner table which can only come from the mouth of an intelligent man. Yet, despite his learned appearance, the readers are able to know the inner thoughts of this man and come to realize that he finds all the festivity and revelry shallow and in vain. He looks at everyone with a look of contempt but rather than being complacent, he also recognized that he was no different from them either. This really spoke to me because people are often quick to judge others but not themselves but Gabriel was different. He judges others harshly and perhaps judges himself even more harshly. He was looking for something different throughout the party and he noted the exact routine in which they convened to dine every year and himself giving the speech every year. This stark depiction of life draws similarity with everyone because all of us, or so I believe, follow a routine on a daily, weekly, and even monthly basis as we go about our jobs, schools, and work. Even what we do in our free time is no more than a routine. Gabriel’s disappointment that night and his realistic pessimism on the outlooks in life towards the end serves as an admonishment to us that we should escape the invisible prison of pattern and go outside of our comfort zone before we realize it is too late. I think this story has real relevance in today’s world, especially that despite our unprecedented material prosperity, we have the highest rate of depression, loneliness, and suicide rates throughout history. These are the things that I thought about as I read this text.
