Key Facts
full title ·
Dubliners
author · James Joyce
type of work · Collection of short stories
genre · Realist fiction; urban literature
language · English (with some Irish and Hiberno-English sayings)
time and place written · Early 19
00s,
Ireland and Italy
date of first publication ·
19
14
publisher · Grant Richards
narrator · The first three stories are narrated by the main character
of each story, which in all three cases is a young, unnamed boy.
The rest of the stories are narrated by an anonymous third person
who pays close attention to circumstantial detail though in a detached manner.
point of view · The first three stories, told from the first person,
focus on the thoughts and observations of the narrators. In the
stories told from the third person, the narrators detail objective
information and present characters as they would appear to an outsider,
but also present thoughts and actions from the protagonists'
points of view, giving the reader a sense of what the characters
are feeling.
tone · Though told mainly by an anonymous narrator, the stories
of Dubliners form a self-conscious examination
of Joyce's native city in Ireland. Because the narrator maintains
a neutral and distant presence, detecting Joyce's attitude toward
his characters is not always easy. The abundance of details about
the grim realities of the city and the focus on hardships, however,
create a tragic tone and offer a subtle critique.
tense · Past tense
setting (time) · Early 19
00s
setting (place) · Dublin
major conflict · Various figures struggle with the challenges of complicated relationships
and life in Dublin.
themes · The prison of routine; the desire for escape; the intersection
of life and death
motifs · Paralysis; epiphany; betrayal; religion
symbols · Windows; dusk and nighttime; food
foreshadowing · The death of Father Flynn in “The Sisters” announces
the focus on death in later stories like “The Dead”; story titles
hint at events in the stories
