Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all! How are you all? Good I hope. Lately I've seen a lot of change, it's a little hard to get used to. More time on my hands lately, which is not something I am used to at all. We'll see if I manage to thrive or drive myself mad.
So driven by the holiday today, I'm pushing my usual reviews post a few days. I have a big place in my heart for Irish literature. Every year around this time I try to take some time and reread The Dead by James Joyce. The Dubliners is the only work of his that I have made my way through. Give me time, someday I will tackle Ulysses. Someday. Joyce was the first writer to take stream-of-consciousness writing to it's full potential. His genius lies in the realization that literature can be more than what it was. Joyce gave literature the kick in the pants it needed. I am always amazed by those who realize the next evolution in an art form. In his short story The Dead Joyce sees the potential of post-modernism.
Lessons from Classic Literature: The Dead
1. Human Beings by nature are selfish. Gabriel spends nearly the entire night caught up in his own selfish needs and desires. He worries so much about himself that he is myopic to everyone around him.
2. Traditions are important. I love the aunt's and their family holiday party. When I was a young child my grandmother would have a similiar party every year. Everybody in the family would attend, even extended relatives that I would never know. These sortof get-togethers are essential.
3. When it comes to toasts keep it simple. Gabriel chooses to focus on the hosts of the evening: his aunts. By letting go of "the quote" he puts the focus on them and not himself. It is his first generous act of story.
4. We all need friends like Freddy Malins. Freddy is an easy moral scapegoat, but he's not so bad. Every group needs it's black sheep though.
5. All you need is love. Like the Beatles said Gabriel's epiphany at the end of the story is that love supercedes death. It is a link between the living and the dead.
Have a great couple of days! Book Slave.
