Symbols Used in The Dead

摘 要：The author analyzed some symbols used in the famous novel The Dead written by James Joyce， one of the greatest Irish novelists. It was concluded that James was trying to describe the spiritual paralysis of Irish people by using symbols in his novel.

關鍵詞：The Dead；symbols；spiritual paralysis

中圖分類號：G712 文獻標識碼：B 文章編號：1002-7661（2013）30-034-01

James Joyce (1882–1941) is one of the greatest Irish novelists. He was born in Dublin and received Catholic education， but he rejected his catholic faith in favor of a literary mission. His early life was unsettled. He lived 36 years in exile in the European Continent. He wanted to break with his native Ireland and with late conventions to shape a new life for himself and a new literature for his time. In his works， Joyce wanted to give the history of Ireland， show the characteristic he saw in Ireland， and particularly in Dublin.

The style of his works is the combination of symbolism， realism， modernism. Comparison and satire are also used. The Dead is a typical one of his works of using these methods to stress the theme. Here I want to present some symbols to look at how James Joyce shows his idea.

The plot of the story is quite simple. Gabriel Conroy， on a night he and his wife attended a party given by his two aunts， sisters Julia and Kate Morkan. Such a party was held every year. Every time Gabriel Conroy would give a speech. And in the party， people talked， danced， drank and sang. The tradition has been kept for “thirty” years. Many characters are described: well-educated Gabriel， the grown-up Lily， the ridiculous alcoholic Freddy Malins… At the end of the party， some certain guest sang a song The Lass of Aughrim， a ballad about a girl deserted by her lover whom she later tries to find， bringing the baby she had by him. The ballad recalled the memory of Gretta， Gabriel’s wife， about a young man， Michael Furey， who fell in love with her but later died for her.

The plot is not complex， but sense of despair about love and society are involved in the plot everywhere.

Lily， a kind of flower， symbolizes purity and innocence. So the girl Lily should be lovely and innocent. But she was actually “pale in complexion and with hay-colored hair”，without any loveliness. Gabrial wanted to make a joke about Lily， in a friendly tone; he said “I suppose we’ll be going to your wedding one of these fine days with your young man， eh?” But the girl glanced back at him over her shoulder and said with great bitterness: “The man that is now only all palaver and what they can get out of you.” She must have been cheated or heart-broken for she lost her believe of love. She was actually desperate about true love. Lily， this kind of flower， is also worn for funerals in the western culture. Here， in the story， the name of Lily symbolizes the dead love. Some other places also mean that there is no love in Ireland. Gretta came from Nun’s Land， lived with Gabrial in the Monk’s Town. These two places deny the marriage and human’s love. So， can people live down there have love? Michael Furey，the dead， is another symbol of dead love. Gabrial regarded that he and his wife loved each other deeply. “He had never felt like that himself towards any woman but he knew that such a feeling must be love.” He never doubted their marriage. But then he was hit by Michael Furey’s story. The young man died at about seventeen. That’s a long time ago. But Gretta still remembered him in her heart， his big dark eyes and the expression in them. “She choked with sobs， overcame by emotion， flung herself face downward on the bed， sobbing in the quilt.” Gretta was trapped in the memory， and could not control herself. Now Gabrial was deeply moved. He could not understand how she who lay beside him had locked in her heart for so many years that image of her lover’s eyes when he had told her that he did not wish to live. How painful it was to think about the poor part he played in her life. “Generous tears filled Gabrial’s eyes.” These three examples showed that all people were dead to love.

Another important symbol is the snow. Snow symbolizes death. “Snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain， on the treeless hills， falling softly upon the Bog of Allen … upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill…falling through the universe and falling upon all the living and the dead. We feel the deadly silence， desperation and the flabby world.

In the story， James Joyce symbolically presented his critical view of Ireland society. The characteristic he saw in Ireland was the spiritual paralysis of its people. The life state was depressing，paralyzing，tiring，and idle. The theme of the story is that of a spiritual paralysis which has seized a lifeless or \"dead\" society and of the vital affect that the dead may have upon the living.