For example, the conflicts between Ireland and England are present in the story. For a very long time, Ireland and England have been opposing forces, and the feud is subtly addressed through the character Lily and Gabriel. Gabriel is an Irish writer who writes criticisms of other writers’ works, and mainly British writers. Lily, who is also Irish, is offended by this and calls him out on it. So, even though it is just a petty little encounter, Joyce is subtly addressing a real conflict that has always been and will probably always be alive.
Another contrasting image in “The Dead” is the images that come from the names Gabriel and Michael. In the Bible, Gabriel and Michael are two angels both fighting for God; however, Gabriel is the angel who gives the orders, and Michael is the angel who follows through and receives all the action. This provides for an interesting image because in the story, Gabriel’s wife’s first love was named Michael, and she would have married Michael, except he died in their youth. Gabriel learned about Michael in, what he thought, was supposed to be a romantic and passionate moment between he and his wife, apparently she did not feel the same way. I believe that the name choice for Gabriel and Michael creates certain implications for how she perceives both Michael and Gabriel, and this makes for very interesting insight.
In James Joyce’s “The Dead,” there are many conflicting images (between Ireland and Britain and between Michael and Gabriel) that provide a more insightful understanding into the story. I felt that the conflicting images made the story more interesting because it made me think a little more about the true meaning of each and every thing written in the story (meaning it made me wonder what had hidden agendas and what did not). I really liked this story, and I’m glad that we read it.
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