Essay on James Joyces Dubliners Two Gallants - 2403 Words

In Two Gallants, the sixth short story in the Dubliners collection, James Joyce is especially careful and crafty in his opening paragraph. Even the most cursory of readings exposes repetition, alliteration, and a clear structure within just these nine lines. The question remains, though, as to what the beginning of Two Gallants contributes to the meaning and impact of Joyces work, both for the isolated story itself and for Dubliners as a whole. The construction, style, and word choice of this opening, in the context of the story and the collection, all point to one of Joyces most prevalent implicit judgments: that the people of Ireland refuse to make any effort toward positive change for themselves. (1)The grey warm†¦show more content†¦Circularity is also evident when the beginning of the story is compared with the final paragraph. Consider the alliteration in lines 3-4: summer, streets, shuttered, Sunday, and swarmed and the ending (p. 71), where the s sound is repeated once again: stared, smiling, slowly, small, and shone. In addition, the image of a lamp plays a key role in each situation: to expose the shape and hue of the crowd in the opening (lines 4-6) and to expose the sovereign Corley holds in the final scene. In Two Gallants, Joyce uses circularity to point out a lack of real change in the situation he has presented. This concept sets up the scene as something essentially static -- even the constantly changing shape and hue is reduced to a murmur when taken as a group (lines 7, 9). Likewise, the purpose Joyce intends for the story is exposed by the fact that its central action -- trading sexual favors for the slave-girls salary -- is just a matter of course for the main characters. As the two men acknowledge, Ecod! Corley, you know how to take them, he [Lenehan] said. Im up to all their little tricks, Corley confessed. (p. 63) Even though Corley essentially steals money from an innocent woman, this action is merely an expression of the fact that both he and Lenehan remain the same shallow creatures of habit they were at the beginning of the story. Much like itsShow MoreRelatedA Look At The Themes Of Home1742 Words   |  7 PagesJuan Linares Mr. Maust English IV AP 11 April 2016 The Wayfarers, A Look at the Themes of Home In James Joyce’s Dubliners In Dubliners, James Joyce explores the objective view of the paralysis that is a city. He believed strongly that Irish society had been paralyzed by two forces, both which he encountered throughout his life. One being England, and all of its social bewilderment, and the other being the Roman Catholic Church. 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The ideas about gender and how female and male characters are depicted in a story, together with gender behaviour, that have shifted over the years in different cities, positions and literary work. The Dubliners (1914) by James Joyce (1882-1941) demonstrate individuals trying to contest or escape paralysis in Dublin. A contrast from Langston Hughes (1902-1967) with Pushcart Man , and Jack Kerouac with the The Town and the city in the city of New York. TheirRead MoreTwo Gallants Essay1223 Words   |  5 PagesTwo Gallants A short story by James Joyce published in his 1914 collection Dubliners. Two men, Lenehan and Corley, are walking the streets of central Dublin on a Sunday evening. Corley dominates the conversation telling Lenehan about a girl he has recently seduced, a maid who works for a wealthy family. He brags about how the girl supplies him with cigars and cigarettes, which she steals from the family. Corley considers his relationship with this girl superior compared to when he used