Triangular Structure in James Joyces Dubliners - 1970 Words

Triangular Structure in James Joyces Dubliners Within the body of literary criticism that surrounds James Joyces Dubliners is a tendency to preclude analysis beyond an Irish level, beyond Joyces own intent to create the uncreated conscience of [his] race. However, in order to place the text within an appropriately expansive context, it seems necessary to examine the implications of the volumes predominant thematic elements within the broader scope of human nature. The psychic drama which places Dubliners within a three-tiered psychological framework  ² desire, repression, agression  ² lies at the root of a larger triangular structure that pervades many of our most fundamental belief systems and life processes. This structure†¦show more content†¦The story also provides evidence within its own structure of the second triangle, involving the three segments within the narrative and their respective connections to desire, repression, and aggression. As is fitting with the aforementioned relationship between desire and ch ildhood, the majority of the story rotates around the boys admiration. It is explicitly described up to the epiphany which occurs on the final page of the story; it is at this point that the boy allows himself to repress even that most intense desire that he, as a child, has allowed himself to feel. He cannot bring himself to buy anything for the object of his lust, as he has promised her he would in their only conversation. In an almost reverberating gesture, he allows the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in [his] pocket. (p. 35.) It is not until the final paragraph of the story that we are offered a glimpse of the boys aggression : Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger. (p. 35.) Appropriate to his age, his aggression is potential rather than actual. Although children can of course be physically violent, this kind of schoolyard aggression is perhaps not the type of violence Joyce intend s to depict; it is not until the later stories of adulthood that the protagonists of Dubliners begin to act on their fierce emotions, usually in the form ofShow MoreRelated James Joyces Araby - Character, Structure and Style in Araby2402 Words   |  10 PagesCharacter, Structure and Style in Araby  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Hazel Edwards, â€Å"A good story writer needs to be a craftsman, for the construction is tighter than that required for most novels. Usually a short story concentrates on a few characters- rarely more than three major ones. The story revolves around a single, dramatic incident which typifies the characters’ reactions. Length varies from 1,000 to about 5,000 words.† With these characteristics in mind, then we are going to examine James Joyce’s