Dubliners essays

Dubliners essays Literature is constantly showing its readers aspects of people and societies that would not normally be shown to the public. The various aspects of society that writers choose to focus on are done for a reason. Whether or not it is a positive or negative aspect of society doesn't hold any significance. The only thing that matters in society is why writers choose to focus on the subjects that they do. Most writers are trying to push their readers further by challenging them with an aspect that the reader may overlook in everyday situations. In his Dubliners, James Joyce uses the function of religion in society to show how corruption has overtaken the Irish. Joyce portrays the immoral and corrupt role of the priests in society to show the hypocrisy behind the Irish Catholic Church, and all that Joyce's symbolism of the physical features and sexual connotations of the priests in "The Sisters", "Ivy Day in the Committee Room", and in "Grace", provides readers with an example of how deceiving these "honorable" religious figures truly are. In "The Sisters", Joyce describes the physical features of Father Flynn to show how other characters felt uncomfortable in his presence. It seems that Father Flynn's company are almost repelled to him: "When he smiled he used to uncover his big discoloured teeth and let his tongue lie upon his lower lip a habit which had made me feel uneasy in the beginning of our acquaintance before I knew him well" (13). This quote shows the awkwardness of Father Flynn's physical appearance. The "discoloured teeth" shows that the priest wasn't hygienic, when in reality priests are supposed to be purified and cleansed. The teeth show that corruption exists in Father Flynn, because he hasn't followed the regulations of priesthood. Another unexpected characteristic of an Irish priest is seen in Father Keon. He is described as being almost seductive with other men and women o...