Symbolism in James Joyce's Dubliners

This thesis sets out to examine James Joyce’s collection of short stories Dubliners. The introduction of the thesis focuses on the historical, social and literary context of Joyce’s collection, as well as the environment he grew up in and how it ultimately reflected in his literary work. In the first few chapters, along with the introduction to Joyce’s life and work, some interesting facts will be presented about the long-lasting publication and the reception of Dubliners in Ireland, but Joyce’s reception as a writer as well. Furthermore, it will attempt to show the influence of Realism and Modernism in Dubliners, as well as portray some common themes and modernist literary techniques used in Dubliners. Lastly, the concept of epiphany will be briefly explained, as it will be present throughout the analysis of the chosen stories in this thesis. Then, the focus will shift towards the main premise of the thesis which is how Realism and Modernism influenced Dubliners and Joyce’s usage of symbolism through analysis of five chosen stories. They are chosen in particular order so that each aspect of life in Dubliners has its representative, and also to be able to depict how the main theme “paralysis” progresses as the stages of life change. From being perceived as what one could say, naive and narrow “point of view” of a child, to an entrapment in the adolescent years; then the third stage displays that “entrapment” as a mere life circle of which some protagonists are not even aware of, and the final group that displays the paralysis that has taken over the entire public life. The chosen stories are; “Araby”, “Eveline”, “A Painful Case”, “A Mother”, and “The Dead”. After the analysis of the stories, and before the very end, the thesis will aim to explain the importance of colours as symbols used in Dubliners