Summary Of The Book
The fifteen short stories in the collection are all set during a period when Irish Nationalism and a search for national identity was at its height. It was also a period when old and modern ideas and ideals clashed. The stories in Dubliners, in no particular order, are A Little Cloud, Eveline, The Sisters, Araby, Clay, The Boarding House, A Painful Case, A Mother, Two Gallants, An Encounter, The Dead, Counterparts, Grace, After The Race, and Ivy Day In The Committee Room.
The stories are varied, though they all depict middle class life. A mother helps her daughter's romance, a boy has to deal with the death of someone who was close to him. A reunion between two old friends sparks envy and a longing for change in one of them. Two con men plan to swindle a housemaid at a wealthy residence. A young student tries to fit in with his wealthy friends, with unfortunate consequence. Two young boys play truant from school to explore Dublin and run into danger. A mother tries desperately to get her daughter's payment for her piano accompaniment at an Irish cultural society event.
The stories in Dubliners deal with themes of confining routine and the desire for escape, to seek new experiences. The stories also revolve around the idea of the main characters experiencing moments of clarity, of illumination and self-understanding. The main characters of the stories range from children to mature characters. The author arranged the stories in a progression of maturity, from childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood.
About James Joyce
James Joyce was a popular Irish writer. His other works include A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man, Chamber Music, Finnegans Wake, Ulysses, The Cat And The Devil, and The Cats Of Copenhagen. James Joyce was born in 1882 in Dublin, Ireland. He studied at the University College Dublin. He emigrated to continental Europe after his marriage, but his stories were mostly set in Dublin, populated with characters that were based on people from his own life or that of his friends and acquaintances. He Is best known for his novel, Ulysses. This book drew inspiration from Homer's Odyssey.