The Dubliners
...falling in the strong final images—in symbolic terms, what is Joyce suggesting? Joyce is describing the strong links between the living and the dead. Death can merely bring a person’s life to an end and has no effect on individuals’ memories of experiences they had with the deceased. These memories can still affect the living, providing a way by which the dead may affect the living. Though Michael Furey is dead, the affect he has on Gretta many years later is still as pronounced as the one he had on her when he was living. She loves him more than she loves her husband, a living man. Joyce, who writes that snow is falling on the living and the dead, is describing the strong connection maintained by the living with the dead. 4. Joyce uses the term epiphany to describe what often occurs in his short stories—an unusual, sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something, an intuitive grasp of reality by a character. Gretta has a memory come back to her, but it is Gabriel who experiences an epiphany. Discuss this perception. Gabriel’s perception is that he has never really loved anything and that emotionally, he is a dead man. He does not feel anything up until the time he spends in the hotel with Gretta. It is then that he recognizes that he has never really seen how people feel and that he and his wife have never truly loved one another. He was living in a world devoid of love because he could never detect people’s feelings. It was a feeling unknown to Gabriel and he never recognized this until the end of the story in his hotel room. Gabriel must rediscover himself and learn to love people before it is too late and he is dead. Though time is running out, he has the time to make a good attempt to truly love someone. 5. Many scholars have commented on the quality of this story, some saying it’s perhaps the best story in our language. How do you judge it? Explain your view, illustrating it with evidence from the text. Even if you did not care for the story, why might it be so highly regarded? What does it say/illustrate about life? I found this story to be an accurate description of the lives of many people today. Many people could read this story and see themselves as Gabriel if they evaluated themselves honestly. In a capitalist economy, individuals can strive to make millions of dollars. Unfortunately, many who undertake this task, and even some who don’t, lose their focus on the big picture and alienate loved ones due to their lack of concern for the welfare of others. This story was carefully crafted to not only include the bit about an inability to love, but also to discuss the connection between the living and the dead. It was this connection that I found especially interesting. It illustrates in life that everything we say and do can add up into an influential package of memories. These memories can continue to affect the lives of those with whom the deceased interacted, allowing dead people to interact with living ones. This accurate statement, which causes the reader to evaluate his or her own actions, is the reason why this book is highly regarded. Joyce did such a thorough job of reinforcing this statement throughout “The Dead,” such as the time the story of the old horse was brought up and the references to memories in Gabriel’s speech, that by the time the story ends, the influence dead people can have is plainly evident. mangochica23: ok i put you on the bed and slowly kiss your neck and mouth. i start kissing your chest and softly lick your nipples. then i gradual go south, but i stop and start playing with your boxer line. teasing you beyond comfort. my hands trace across your stomach and slowly unzip your pants, massaging your inner thighs and balls. then i kiss the top of your belly button and trial down where i gently make your eyes roll to the back of your head as i blow your mind away ok you take my shirt of and we slowly move to each others heart beats. your pants are already unzipped and yearning for a cover. you unbutton my shirt as i itch for your coming. you flip me and your on top and slowly take off my thong of black lace. i moan in desire for your entrance. you look at me and slowly start moving to insert yourself. i grab hold of the bed post and clench it to let you in. you move slowly at first to place your slef and i then start to move with you. im moaning with great intensity as the motion gets faster, but you are still gentle. it feels good when your inside me therefore i give you sighs of pleasure as you groan in sweat and comfort k, the setting..... big empty house, master bedroom, king size bed with a mirror that leans out so that it reflects the whole entire bed. ok, we are just sitting there having a nice talk when the conversation starts to heat up. we start scooting closer and i place my hand on your leg and slowly move it inward.i stop and get up to go to the bathroom and change into something alittle more suited for the moment. to warm you up i lightly push you back and start playing with your tongue........with mine! you trace the curves of my body as you ty to find a clip to take off my langerie. i hestitate, but reasure you with a smile. your intensions are clear as you flip me to bottom and gently lift me to the center of the bed. there you can see how well you are doing by the mirror. im very willing as you take off my bra and start kissing my chest in great hast. i then try to take off your shirt, but we seem to be connected at the mouth. i can feel the bulge in your pants pressed against me, and the pressure in that area feels good as you slowly move up and down without realizing it. your anxious, so i teasingly feel around your chest delicatley ticking your nipples. i feel the muscle in your back as i pull you against me. i unzip your pants and the bulge becomes more obvious, you sit up and pull them off. we are now only in our underwear as we grind in motion with eachother. i start to kiss your neck and then i begin sucking on it, implying that i may want to suck on something more. you rapidly feel me up and down as you get more and more intranced. i move my hands down your torso and into your boxers. i softly play with your balls and tease your dick. you cant concentrate anymore as i try and kiss you. your breathing intensifies, as does your motion. i take off your boxers leaving you open and vulnerable. my nerves are going crazy, i feel my body tingling as you take off my underwear. just when you think this is it, i flip you over ans slowly kiss down your body with my hands following. feeling your sides and then i grab your thighs. i open my mouth ans teasingly lick your dick as you pant in want. i start to give you a blow job as you then clench the sheets in pleasure. you start making grunts and groans as you begin to reach your climax.......but then i stop. you look up in shock, unsatisfied and uncomplete. i gracefully lick up your body, making eye contact with you the whole time. i meet your mouth and then gently lay on you. i then grab you gnetly and lead you to my opening, slowly incerting you. you turn me over and i tilt my head back as i feel you inside me. it feels good so you smile and ask if im ok when you start to move. i feel you all through my body and i give you a sigh, or two, of pleasure. i look at you and tell you this "im your barbie and youre ken, bend me as you please." you lift my legs over your shoulders, helping me to open more so that you can go deeper. i grab the pillows beneath me as you start moving faster. it starts to get hot and your body is sweaty against mine. the moans get louder as do the groans. your working hard as i lay there enjoying the sensation. you try to kiss me but air is greatly needed so the kisses are short but forceful. you bring my legs down and i then intwine them with yours and grab on to your back and pull you in tighter. im wet all over as i moan deeper. we fall to the floor. you then pick me up and push me up against the wall and i wrap my legs around your waist. tongues down eachothers throats you grab my butt for thrust and bump me into the wall. soon the motion gets slower and its now smooth and comforting. i cna breathe and your panting is hard and loud. you lower me back onto the bed where i push you into me one last time as i then feel myself release and give a great sigh. you lay next to me hot sweaty and extremely exhausted. you place my head on your chest where i hear your heart beat and there we fall asleep satisfied and relaxed. The setting, a bedroom in an empty house….. We’re lying in a bed, side by side, watching a movie when the conversation shifts to what satisfies you. Your head is resting on my arm when we make eye contact. The look in your eyes is inviting so I roll over, get on my knees and move over you. Your hands move to my waist and massage my hips momentarily. My hands move from your sides to the buttons on your shirt. I’m still above you as I unfasten the top three buttons, revealing the black lace bra you’re wearing under your shirt. Your hands move under my shorts and you put a finger under the elastic around the top of my boxers and and slowly move it down until my shorts and boxers are just above my penis. I lean over and kiss you briefly before unbuttoning the last three buttons on your shirt. I brush the shirt to your side and slide my hands up towards your shoulders, pausing when my index fingers make contact with your hardened nipples. My fingers circle around your nipples once, before tracing th...