Dubliners

In what ways are characters in Dubliners paralyzed? What forces render them unable to act?

Is “Araby” a conventional love story?

At the end of “Araby,” why does the narrator say his eyes “burned with anguish and anger” (p. 28)?

In “Eveline,” why doesn’t Eveline run away with Frank?

What does Joyce mean in “After the Race” when he describes Dublin as a city that wears “the mask of a capital” (p. 39)?

How would you describe the relationship between Corley and Lenehan in “Two Gallants”?

What is the significance of the small gold coin Corley is holding at the end of “Two Gallants”?

In “The Boarding House,” why does Bob Doran feel compelled to marry Polly?

In “Counterparts,” why is Farrington so angry?

In “A Painful Case,” why does James Duffy resist his passion for Emily?

What is the significance of the poem Mr. Hynes recites near the end of “Ivy Day in the Committee Room”?

In “The Dead,” the narrator describes Gretta listening to music on the stairs as “a symbol of something” (p. 211). Is Gretta a symbol of anything? And, if so, of what?

Once Gretta falls asleep after telling Gabriel about Michael Furey, why does Gabriel feel so alienated from her?

To what extent does one’s birthplace determine one’s identity or destiny?

Is individual freedom inevitably limited by the social customs of a particular place?