Dubliners by James Joyce: Short Stories with Life Lessons

One day, he and his friend Mahony decide to play hooky and explore the far reaches in the city. Serious and genuinely dangerous pitfalls are encountered that seem emblematic of the real and intellectual perils encountered in life. The boys barely escape the clutches of a seemingly thoughtful but perverse older man who seems to shows intentions of wanting to molest them. Eventually, our protagonist comes to a realization about his friend Mahony, a boy characterized by exuberant action but also by thoughtlessness and a lack of empathy: “for in my heart I had always despised him a little.”

In the course of the story’s journey, it seems that the narrator’s idealistic views on exploring the world at large, acting with vigor as well as intellectual and social adventurism, become tarnished. This pattern of disappointment in enthusiastic aspirations is repeated over and over again in these stories.

An interpretation of Dubliners 

It appears to me that Joyce has hit upon certain hazards common to human lives the world over. He is very good at portraying a subtle demeaning of one’s morality, dreams and ambitions. The end result of a lifetime of such small failures is a degraded and pernicious older person, in this case a child molester, who still shows indications of intellectual underpinnings. Though most of Joyce’s characters do not end up as morally indigent as the child molester, many suffer such ills as excessive cynicism, emotional detachment, depression, etc.

Are there lessons here for readers of all ages? 

I do not detect a lot of optimism inherent in these stories. Joyce does not present much hope, either in avoiding decay or in finding redemption in “An Encounter” or in many of the other stories included in this collection.

If we start with the proposition that Joyce’s analysis concerning what happens to people is reflective of real life, at least for some, then the writer has hit upon a real problem for many attempting to navigate through life. In my opinion, the dangers that are highlighted here are indeed a threat to human well-being. However, Joyce is not instructing here. This collection is not a guidepost aimed at helping readers to avoid disillusionment and decay.

Even with that realization, perhaps even this dim view of the world can help a person who wishes to preserve their ideals and thus avoid such malign fates. Though the writer offers no solutions, it can be argued that the first step in avoiding danger is recognizing and understanding that danger. Perhaps a reader, young or old, can take these warnings to heart, and thus avoid some of these traps. Though Joyce does not go there, and thus may seemingly not believe in a way out, a perceptive and self aware reader might be able to devise certain life strategies aimed at avoiding the worst aspects of this personal decay. Since Joyce does not himself offer answers, I will leave the formation of solutions to the reader.