'Alcoholism In James Joyce's Dubliners'

Alcoholism is defined as an addiction to the indulgence of alcoholic liquor and the compelling behaviour which results from alcohol dependency. In the novel “Medicine Walk” by Richard Wagamese and the essay “Mother’s Milk” by Christie Blatchford, the reasoning behind and dire repercussions of alcohol abuse are evident through the characters Eldon Starlight and Christie’s mother. However, Eldon’s reason for alcoholism is much more traumatic and its effect on both himself and those around him is of greater severity as opposed to Christie’s mother. As a teenager Christie’s mother suffers from social nervousness and uses alcohol as a means of reducing her anxiety, whereas Eldon begins drinking after he was forced to leave his home as his mother chose her abusive husband over him. After Christie was born her mother began drinking at a higher degree while Eldon’s alcoholism heightens after he must kill his only friend to ensure his own survival. Occasionally Christie’s mother would quit alcohol for around a month’s time and her health would improve, contrastingly Eldon’s attempt to abstain from alcohol lasts only a couple of days and results in the deterioration of his health. Despite her alcoholism Christie’s mother lives past the age of 80 and even outlives her husband by 15 years, on the other hand due to his alcohol abuse Eldon suffers from liver failure which results in his early death. Her mother’s

Alcoholism does not only affect a person’s physical, mental, and emotional state, but it also changes the lives of people close to the drinker forever. It ruins relationships and trust that took years to build up, and may never be able to be restored. In Jeannette Walls’s memoir, The Glass Castle, she tells the story of her childhood in which her father was an alcoholic. Jeannette’s father, Rex Walls, was brilliant and charismatic when he was sober, but when he drank, he was destructive and dishonest.

Jeannette wanted the readers to comprehend why alcohol is an issue in society and the harm and dangers that comes their way. Leaving Jeannette’s family in total despair because of their father under possession of alcohol. Alcoholism is an issue in society and to this day the issue hasn’t been resolved. Ergo discussing the topic to children as well as teenagers will not resolve the issue but will raise awareness. As well as fiction can teach the young minds that alcoholism is an issue and can encourage them to put a stop to it.

“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all…the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father [and] the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire” (McCourt 1). This is how Frank McCourt introduces his memoir, Angela’s Ashes. He tells the story of his growing up in a poverty stricken world, brought on to them by the alcoholism of his father. Being the recollections of a person’s memoires it is sometimes difficult to believe in all the poverty, abuse and family which Franck claims existed and were caused by alcoholism. Alcoholism is the root of all problems in the book as it leads to poverty, abuse and family tensions. By comparing Frank’s testimony of how alcohol ruined his childhood to other real world scenarios it will be possible to determine if Frank’s case is the norm for alcohol taking this kind of effect or is his story just an extreme case of alcohol abuse.

What is alcoholism and how does it severely affect people? It is a chronic condition characterized by uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette’s father Rex, is an alcoholic. We assume he enjoys drinking when on page nine, Jeannette recalls her father smelling of whiskey. “As he held me close, I breathed in his familiar smell of Vitalis, whiskey, and cigarette smoke. It reminded me of home.” While it is concerning that young Jeannette knows what whiskey smells like, it is not concerning enough until page fourteen, paragraph six. “In my mind, Dad was perfect, although he did have what Mom called a little bit of a drinking situation. There was what Mom

The essay Under the Influence by Scott Russell Sanders, the author is sketching how growing up in a family with an alcoholic father affected his upbringing to adulthood as a husband and father. He remembers his father behavior, how he gradually transformed from a good competent man to a shameful, bungling drunk. The essay can be outlined in eight separate scenarios, which they will explain the message the author is given the reader. We begin with mother, she tolerated husband behavior and never talked about his problem to anyone. Instead of seeking for help or advice, she kept her husband’s shameful problem a secret, at least in appearances.

The narrator of Ten Nights in a Barroom believes that the abnormality of drinking alcohol has a negative effect on the lives of men. However, he suspiciously promotes the anti-temperance movement by staying in the barroom while others drink. If the narrator’s contradicting attitude is overlooked, he may be easily seen as a harsh, judging man that interferes with the lives of others who he does not know; the novel might also be read only as a simple temperance tract. Ten Nights in a Barroom is not about judging other people; rather, the novel represents one’s longing for social fellowship and freedom that the men in the bar find by drinking alcohol.

As they start to catch up on lost time, Tommy begins bringing up the past to his father about how he was a drunk and forgot all about him and his mother. He does everything in his power to make his father feel guilty. Tommy notices the picture of Brendan and his family on a dresser and Paddy begins to tell him about his life.. Tommy remains silent revealing that he’s not interested in anything having to do with Brendan. It soon becomes obvious that Tommy didn’t return home to make peace with his former alcoholic dad. Paddy tries apologizing, “I’m sorry, Tommy.” But Tommy’s reply is nothing but sarcasm. “Well…It’s good to know that you’re sorry, Pop. Goes a long way. I think I liked you better when you were a drunk (Warrior).” Tommy’s first confrontation with his father after years is just reassurance that there are still extremely harsh feelings towards his father, Brendan and their family past. Paddy only wants who’s left to come together as a family finally and leave the past behind.

Throughout James Joyce’s “Dubliners” there are four major themes that are all very connected these are regret, realization, self hatred and Moral paralysis, witch is represented with the actual physical paralysis of Father Flynn in “The Sisters”. In this paper I intend to explore the different paths and contours of these themes in the four stories where I think they are most prevalent ,and which I most enjoyed “Araby”, “Eveline”, “The Boarding House”, and “A Little Cloud”.

James Joyce’s book of short stories entitled Dubliners examines feminism and the role of women in Irish society. The author is ahead of his time by bringing women to the forefront of his stories and using them to show major roles and flaws in Irish society, specifically in “Eveline” and “The Boarding House”. James Joyce portrays women as victims who are forced to assume a leading and somewhat patriarchal role in their families. He uses them to show the paralysis of his native land Ireland, and the disruption in social order that is caused by the constant cycle of abuse that he finds commonplace in Ireland. Joyce is trying to end the Victorian and archaic view of

“To be or not to be, that is the question.” Hamlet’s famous quotation implies only two solutions: to be, or to not be. However, there is another option that Shakespeare never explored: to remain paralyzed between the two states, unable to commit to either. James Joyce’s Dubliners is a collection of short stories first published in 1914, that follows the inhabitants of Ireland. Published nearly a half a century before the Republic of Ireland would be recognized as an independant country, many of Joyce’s short stories in Dubliners explore the theme of Irish paralysis, that Joyce found afflicted both the whole of Ireland and its individual citizens. Many

Little Chandler had fantasized about becoming a writer and moving from Dublin himself, and his reunion with Gallaher in the bar escalades these unrealistic desires. “Every step [towards the bar where they were meeting] brought him nearer to London, farther from his own sober inartistic life” (68). Gallaher tells Chandler of the exiting places outside of Dublin where, he says, “[in Dublin,] nothing is known of such things,” and the places he has been are “not for a pious chap like [Little Chandler]” (71, 73). Gallaher is not at all interested in Chandler’s family, nor does he want one of his own. He even goes so far to say that if he ever gets married, it would be to a rich German or Jewish girl, and that tying himself to one woman “must get a bit stale” (77). The meeting with Gallaher and “listening to Gallaher’s stories and of sharing for a brief space Gallaher’s vagrant and triumphant life, upset the equipoise of his sensitive nature” (75). He leaves the bar feeling somewhat cheated out of a life that he could have had.

Human beings yearn for better lives, often through escape. The main characters in James Joyce's Dubliners are no exception. Characters such as Eveline in "Eveline" and Little Chandler in "A Little Cloud" have a longing to break free of Dublin's entrapment and pursue their dreams. Nevertheless, these characters never seem to achieve a better state; rather, they are paralyzed and unable to embark on their journey of self-fulfillment. Joyce employs this motif of the empty promise of escape and its subsequent frustration through one's own responsibilities and purely physical acts. Through this, Joyce interconnects the different Dubliners stories to show that escaping life in a place as paralyzing as Dublin is no easy task on the individual.

Dubliners by James Joyce is a collection of stories centered around Joyce’s intentions to write the moral history of Dublin’s paralysis. Although paralysis seems to be the main theme in Dubliners, another motif comes across in the pages of the stories. As if all of the mental, physical, and emotional problems weren’t enough, many of the characters in Dubliners are alcoholics. Joyce utilizes the character of the drunk in many of the stories in Dubliners; hardly a story skips a mention of a drink. The negative effects of alcohol occur again and again through the collection of stories. For the most part, men are brought down by their addiction to alcohol and their inability to control themselves when they are drunk. In Dubliners, the characters seek their own desires, face obstacles that frustrate them, and ultimately give in to their need to consume alcohol. With Dubliners, James Joyce brings attention to the different issues that consuming alcohol caused in early 20th century Ireland using three particular stories; “Counterparts”, “Grace” and “Ivy Day in the Committee Room”.

Gallaher displays an exciting life in which he indulges in many women in many cities, and drives Little Chandler into frustration as he thinks about the life he has now instead of the life he truly wants. Little Chandler immediately views his life differently and regrets his decisions and envies what his life could be following his meeting with Gallaher. Before the meeting with Gallaher, Little Chandler is happy with his wife, and is proud of their child they have together, showing this to Gallaher as he “blushed and smiled” while discussing his “connubial bliss” (Page 74);