Last Line

The last line, “‘Daybreak, gentlemen!’” I think is interesting because of what was said a couple of lines earlier by Jimmy. He says that he would regret his decisions in the morning, but was glad to be able to rest before then. The irony of that line is that it is already morning so in fact there is no time to rest. Jimmy is the only person who is Irish in the group so I think it is safe to assume that Jimmy represents Ireland. He has just spent a night of gambling with non-Irish people. He is left without money by the end of the night, and he severely regrets his decision. The fact that he said he was going to leave it until daybreak I think is speaking about Ireland trying to put off the problems that are present in the country, specifically in Dublin at the time. Joyce always tries to send a message with his last line, and I think this line gives this whole story meaning. I think the reason why the last line is saying it is already daybreak is because Joyce is saying that Dublin cannot procrastinate any longer. They must act soon to fix the problems present in their society.