Epiphanies in James Joyce's "Dubliners"
Epiphanies in Dubliners
Dubliners presents various different stories with unique characters that often share similar experiences or transformations. An epiphany or sudden realization is a common occurrence in these stories. In “After the Race” , “An Encounter” and “Eveline” each main character experiences an epiphany.
“An Encounter” is about a boy who decides to skip school with his friends one day. The boy’s friends played Cowboys and Indians often and this caused a hunger for adventure in the boys mind. The boy became convinced that exciting things only happen to those who go exploring about so he decided to ditch school one day and go into town.
There the boy meets an old man and he is embarrassed of his friend and doesn’t want to seem foolish. He appears well educated and like a sharp boy to the reader. The reader almost experiences an epiphany along with the boy because up until now the reader wasn’t fully aware of the boy’s intelligence.
The boy realized he didn’t even like Mahony, the friend he was running off with. The juvenile spirit of him actually annoyed the boy. He didn’t need to act cool or play hooky or read comics. He enjoyed learning, acting mature, and being a respectable boy and it took talking to this old man for him to realize that.
“Eveline” relates the story of a woman who is planning to run off with her fiancé. The story reads as if she has a tough home life especially since her mother died. For the first part of the story she ponders her decision wondering if she is making the right choice. She constantly is putting the promise she made to her mother in consideration.
Her mother is her only reason of thinking of staying. She knows that staying involves a lot more work less respect a lot of duty and taking care of her abusive father. The two people she cared about most in her family are already gone. In a weird sense having her mother gone is what is holding her back. She told her mom that she would make sure her father is being
Dubliners presents various different stories with unique characters that often share similar experiences or transformations. An epiphany or sudden realization is a common occurrence in these stories. In “After the Race” , “An Encounter” and “Eveline” each main character experiences an epiphany.
“An Encounter” is about a boy who decides to skip school with his friends one day. The boy’s friends played Cowboys and Indians often and this caused a hunger for adventure in the boys mind. The boy became convinced that exciting things only happen to those who go exploring about so he decided to ditch school one day and go into town.
There the boy meets an old man and he is embarrassed of his friend and doesn’t want to seem foolish. He appears well educated and like a sharp boy to the reader. The reader almost experiences an epiphany along with the boy because up until now the reader wasn’t fully aware of the boy’s intelligence.
The boy realized he didn’t even like Mahony, the friend he was running off with. The juvenile spirit of him actually annoyed the boy. He didn’t need to act cool or play hooky or read comics. He enjoyed learning, acting mature, and being a respectable boy and it took talking to this old man for him to realize that.
“Eveline” relates the story of a woman who is planning to run off with her fiancé. The story reads as if she has a tough home life especially since her mother died. For the first part of the story she ponders her decision wondering if she is making the right choice. She constantly is putting the promise she made to her mother in consideration.
Her mother is her only reason of thinking of staying. She knows that staying involves a lot more work less respect a lot of duty and taking care of her abusive father. The two people she cared about most in her family are already gone. In a weird sense having her mother gone is what is holding her back. She told her mom that she would make sure her father is being