Date of Award
Fall 12-2018
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
English
Department
English
Major Professor
Dr. Daniel Doll
Second Advisor
Dr. Anne Boyd Rioux
Third Advisor
Dr. Leslie White
Abstract
In my research, I will examine James Joyce’s Dubliners as a collection of stories that is unified by an ongoing theme; escape or the desire to escape. In the collection, the want or need to escape serves a major purpose throughout the characters and their lives. This thesis explores five stories that share this theme in particular: “The Sisters,” “Eveline,” “Araby,” “An Encounter,” and “The Dead.” Each story will be discussed in the context of how each story progresses from a want to an actual escape. In addition, the thesis also considers how these stories exhibit a progression towards isolation and paralysis in the living until the final story, “The Dead.” “The Dead” can be interpreted as a positive, hopeful ending to the bleak collection, but I will argue its ending is anything but optimistic along with its crucial role as a conclusion to Dubliners.
Recommended Citation
Wheatley, Alyssa M., "The Desire to Escape and the Inability to Follow Through in James Joyce’s Dubliners" (2018). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 2556.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2556
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.