The Dead: James Joyce Gives Me the Chills

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In this video, I break down a few passages from The Dead, the final story from the short story collection called Dubliners by James Joyce. I talk about how what the story is about is not totally clear until the end, signs and symbols, and some supernatural elements.
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[@offthewallnovels1292]

I’m releasing a novel on August 15 called Lionel Lancet and the Right Vibe. Subscribe for updates or join my mailing list on my website in the description.

[@mahahelmy7986]

13:52 The Shadow: indication of the dead or the world beyond. She is hearing the voice of the dead, a dead man who sang this song to her before. Her previous experience with him revives his voice. Thus the dead have a voice and it leaves an impact on us. Reference from the first short story "The Sisters" Although Father Flynn had died, he was still the center of narration.

[@offthewallnovels1292]

I also love how it refers to that initial short story, especially when the first story involves an adolescent main character who doesn't know how to react when someone close dies. This is a perfect way to show the rejection of the shadow, which certainly includes death and the world beyond, but in a Jungian context, implies something broader too: the unconscious aspects of ourselves (usually distasteful things) that we supress in ourselves and project onto others. So, Gabriel's acceptance of the world beyond, the shadow, the dead, etc. is also a beautiful end of the arc of Dubliners, not just the dead; we get a beautiful acceptance of others, death, the shadow, which is complexly shown by Gabriel seeing this in his wife "hearing" a man who is dead, and, as you put it, realizing that "the dead have a voice and it leaves an impact on us." Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@mahahelmy7986]

Write Better Stories , Actually the boy in “the sisters” did not mourn over Father Flynn’s death because the priest was preventing the boy from having complete freedom, hinting a little bit to (paedophilia) and made clear in the following story “an encounter” it was not due to suppression but it was deliberately put to show how these priests were only marginally appearing as honest men, reading the story from the context of Dublin and its history, Joyce tries to show the resistance to religious groups. The struggle of republicans vs conservatives, Joyce was an advocate to the British empire, and he saw that the Irish were not progressing but paralyzed, as you see in the begging of the story marks the death of father Flynn in the same day of the anniversary of Britain’s victory over Ireland, in addition to the fact that the boy referred instantly to the word Simony (the selling of blessings and pardons) Joyce was highly critical of religious corrupt groups which he saw were paralyzing Dublin. This story is very rich read in historical context I’m a huge fan of Carl Jung, but try reading these stories within their historical context, you won’t find any of them boring! Just wanted to make this one last point clear anyways haha sorry for being annoying! ♥️

[@offthewallnovels1292]

​@@mahahelmy7986 Disregarding historical context is a major blindspot in my analysis, not just for The Dead by James Joyce, but also for my entire unofficial, pastiche critical mode, if it's even fair to call it that. There is no doubt in my mind that the true richness of The Dead, Dubliners, and James Joyce's can only be realized when we know about Joyce and the social and political mores of the time. However, I believe that historical context can also distract from from the text just as much as it can enliven it, especially when analyzing how a text functions as a piece of fiction. I readily admit that The Dead is a historical artifact written by a real man named James Joyce. However, I want to pick apart The Dead and texts in general to focus on how a character is introduced, developed, and given an arc. After all, I want to write better stories (and be an unapologetic cornball :) I agree that nothing about The Dead demands a Jungian investigation. But, a Jungian lens is helpful when we're trying to read a character arc because it provides a structure and a vocabulary. What is unconscious about them? What do they think is true about themself? What is actually true about themself? Regardless of what Joyce was trying to do or the historical elements of the time, we can use Jung to map the fictional elements of The Dead to answer these questions and use this map to guide us when we're writing our own stories. It's perhaps a secondary intention of this channel to inspire people who don't really like reading and to show them that the classics can be fun, engaging, and inspiring even if they don't have a vast academic knowledge or even if they never end up reading The Dead or any other story I talk about. But, I sincerely appreciate the insight in your comments and you bringing a more robust reading into the discussion because they can provide a next step for people who are interested in reading the text as a historical artifact. I hope to hear from you again!

[@rcckf]

I kind of thought the symbolism of his wife standing on the stairs is she is caught between two levels - the one of the living and the one of the dead. Also, since she is elevated above him, she has had a more meaning full life than he. She is advanced in her journey of love and loss.

[@offthewallnovels1292]

I think that's a good reading. I focused more on Gabriel's perspective since he's a heady writer trying to extract meaning from her standing there, but given where the story goes, your take is correct. That being said, I don't know if that would have been apparent to me on a first reading since you find out about her loss near the end, but on subsequent readings, knowing that she'd been quietly dealing with love and loss the whole time, it adds a richer element to the story.

[@d.u_]

Really enjoyed this vid man. Helped me to understand the story a lot more. Thanks!

[@offthewallnovels1292]

Thanks for watching!

[@herrklamm1454]

Possibly my favourite Joyce story.

[@offthewallnovels1292]

No doubt, he hit a stride with this one, I can’t get into any of his novels, I haven’t sworn them off, but The Dead hits so much harder than anything else of his I’ve read

[@herrklamm1454]

@@offthewallnovels1292 I have to agree, I prefer Joyce at his most basic level. I loved parts of Ulysses but other sections just bored me or went over my head. Finnegans Wake just isn’t for me, at least not yet.

[@offthewallnovels1292]

@@herrklamm1454 yeah, I am kind of bored by the Christian imagery in Ulysses and Portrait of the Artist, and I’m amazing anyone can read Finnegan’s Wake, I can’t get past the first paragraph.

[@accalloway1950]

You have a great voice. Perfect for audiobooks!

[@offthewallnovels1292]

Thanks! I’m working on a novel right now, and down the road there will be an audio book for it too. Stay tuned!

[@MrRoehre]

I just recently discovered your channel and I wanna say I really enjoy your videos and your writing! I just read The Dead and was equally as impressed by the ending as you were, it made me want to go back and read the whole story again. Just one thing, the first passage you selected, it was my understanding that they all left right after the party, in the middle of the night -- what made you think they had spent the night at the aunts' house? Edit: o guess the "morning air" - but it must have been early morning, as Gabriel and Gretta go to bed as soon as they get home.

[@offthewallnovels1292]

Hey thanks for the kind words and for checking out the video! I think you're right, I misinterpreted that as they'd stayed the night. I have a much better memory for theme than plot. It would be a huge help to the channel if you shared this video or any others with someone you think might like them. Thanks again!

[@rezajamshidi8685]

Simply you are amazing. Thanks 👍😇

[@offthewallnovels1292]

You’re amazing!! 😁

[@georgelaing2578]

There is nothing in life more powerful than first love!

[@mahahelmy7986]

5:21 EXACTLY

[@giniarobeau2407]

I just love this video! The guy has great content and his genuineness makes his talk both refreshing and stick out like a sore toe, amongst all those online videos that are stylised and based on a business pitch format. Judging from his accent, I presume I'm on the other side of the side of the world, so I can freely say that like Gabriel, maybe I'm just horny....

[@offthewallnovels1292]

You have no idea how thrilled I am to read this comment.Thank you for watching. I am going to be launching more videos in 2020, so I'm open to feedback about what direction you'd like to see the channel take. What part of the world are you watching from?

[@rozchristopherson648]

Note that Gabriel said he never felt that way about a woman but is sure that feeling must be love. So does he really "love" his wife? Doesn't sound like it.

[@offthewallnovels1292]

I think he learns to love her by the end. Part of his realization in my read is that he discovers that she’s a complex person with a past and experiences that have nothing to do with him. But I agree, before his transformation, he treats her as an accessory to his life.

[@rozchristopherson648]

@@offthewallnovels1292 I agree that he comes to understand her better and that there is more to a relationship than passion. But I still don’t think he made it all the way to the love he recognizes in Michael because that is a love of self-sacrifice. Gabriel does not have that quality and he knows and states this fact. Also Gretta knows she has never been loved like Michael loved her. That is why she is inconsolable and falls asleep in grief at the end.

[@offthewallnovels1292]

@@rozchristopherson648 That’s a good argument. I think you’re right, Gabriel realizes he has never felt the way Michael felt about Greta.

[@mankosdream6138]

my interpretation of the dead wraps into his speech about traditionalism. in his speech, gabriel talks about keeping the memories from those who have passed and passing those down to the next generation to keep those traditions alive. at the end, his encounter with gretta is not only humbling but a reminder that everyone has their stories to tell and michael furey would have been lost if gretta didn’t tell gabriel about her love for him. these memories that we have should be shared and passed down because there is something to learn from those lessons and the snow covering the living and the dead is purely the representation of humanity being one in the same, sharing the same thoughts and feelings and experiences. idk that’s just what i got from the story 🤷‍♂️

[@offthewallnovels1292]

I think that's a great take. I usually get caught up in the idea that so much of the story is a distraction until the end, highlighting Gabriel's self absorption, but I should take another look at his speech.

[@tmac8892]

Shia LaBeouf in the future.

[@offthewallnovels1292]

haha, i get that all the time!

[@freddywilson6784]

This aged like milk

[@Sh0n0]

@@freddywilson6784 why

[@Bookspine5]

Looks like Michael Fury may be an earlier iteration of Denny Lachance, but he's dead :( ...

[@ShibymolBabu]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mV60pq2lrrB3ptU this is a detailed analysis of the story.please watch it

[@DomhnallOSuileabhainPrin-tm1fw]

"the Catholic imagery bores me" Definitely too many years as an atheist or a protestant. Brainwashing is a bitch and an IQ killer.

[@lucieirl]

watching this before my seminar to get my brain flowing- I really liked this video! however, and I've seen some people mention this in comments, I also took away Joyce making a statement on the cyclical nature of humanity/no idea is new anymore and that was shown through the party discussing old opera singers, and talking to Mallins mother who described her trip to Scotland and it was no different to the invitation Miss Ivors gave Gabriel and so on. Also, as a young woman myself I could feel Gretta's lack of arousal and almost desperate attempt to shut down Gabriel's 'horniness' with her story of Michael, and the idea of a lost love, using emotional leverage to defend herself from essentially, a rape/overly salacious ideas of Gabriel

[@offthewallnovels1292]

Those are both good takes. I am more familiar with the idea that no idea is new coming from the post modern era, but I see it here now that it’s been mentioned. I always read it as Greta naturally getting carried away thinking about Michael, but I think it’s a valid reading as well that she shut him down intentionally. Thanks for watching! Good luck with the seminar.

[@mrl9418]

Not sure why people love entertainment so much. Boring is better 👍 Lets take DFW for instance...

[@TheFlamingPotato]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but uh, has anyone ever told you how wrong you are?

[@PaulSmith-pf2uq]

I'm 7:25 minutes into this video and I've never heard anyone rumbling about something as this guy. I cannot stand it anymore. I'm giving up.

[@zuley6957]

you should just get to the point