Things Fall Apart :: Essays Papers

Things Fall Apart In James Joyce’s Dubliners, a compellation of short stories, that portrays the hardships of everyday life in Ireland during the late 1800’s. Throughout many of these stories, Joyce shows the significance of an individual’s influence on society through examples of drinking, bonding with friends, shared memories/reminiscing, anger/envy, and sexual desire. Many of Joyce’s characters use these common themes to escape the troubles they may face in their everyday responsibilities. More specifically the characters in the two stories â€Å"The Dead†, and â€Å"Counterparts† provide evidence and specific examples of such re-occurring themes. From these particular instances it is evident that the actions of certain characters have a direct influence on them and society. In â€Å"Counterparts†, the main character Farrington uses alcohol to escape from his daily responsibilities. While at work he feels the need to leave and get a quick drink at a local bar to relieve the thirst in his throat, and hopes that by doing so he can return and finish the contract his boss had ordered. Upon his return to work, Farrington realizes there was not enough time for him to finish the contract by the deadline his boss had set. While sitting at his desk minding his predicament, Farrington thought of a place where he would rather be, â€Å"the dark damp night was coming and he longed to spend it at the bars, drinking with friends†¦ (85). So he left work and lied to his boss of the contract. After pawning off his pocket watch for money needed for the night Farrington met up with his friends at one of Ireland’s many bars. Sitting with his close friend Nossey Flynn, Farrington recited the story of how he skipped out of work that night, when he finished Flynn applauded him and â€Å"stood† Farrington a half drink of whiskey.(89) . This interaction between the friends shows how Farrington uses the relationships with hiss friends and joyful reminiscing to escape stress he faces from day to day. Farrington tries to use the ‘oh so familiar male bonding by physical feats, to escape more common stresses of the night by agreeing to an arm wrestling match with Weathers.