A Comparison Of Epiphanies In The Dead And A & P

Epiphanies are sudden discoveries or realizations that can be caused by simple or extraordinary events. The Dead and A&P are not necessarily the classic stories of knights marching through quests and reaching extreme revelations. Instead, the main characters find their own epiphanies through the personal events that they are faced with. Although it isn't as eventful, the lessons learned from these characters are still just as meaningful, if not more, because they are more relatable to the readers.

The Dead by James Joyce slowly begins by showing the main character’s relationship with his family and wife as they socialize at a dinner party. A significant part of the story is after Gabriel learns that his wife’s distant behavior is caused
Sammy is working at low-end job during the summer to make his parents happy and earn some extra cash. He notices that his co-worker, Stokesie, is already married with kids at the age of 22 with small plans of becoming manager some day. This job isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, and Sammy probably doesn’t have plans to work there his whole life like Stokesie, so he isn’t very enthusiastic when he describes his job. Sammy’s epiphany comes to him as he watches the girls get humiliated by a middle-aged man and just before he utters his resignation. He does not quit solely to stand up for the girls and present himself as a hero. At that moment he realizes just how ridiculous his whole situation is because he doesn’t belong there. He does not belong in a store with a 22 year old with very little ambitions, or with a manager who teaches sunday school, and thinks that girls in bathing suits should go to hell instead of enter his store. He even refers to himself as an “unsuspected hero” and says, “and my stomach kind of fell as i felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.” He’s finally free and understands the struggles that will come from not living his life