"Go West, Young Man!"

Horace Greeley's advice to Conroy - but not really.

Throughout Joyce’s Dubliners, we have repeatedly seen the theme of escape from Ireland. Many characters dream about how their lives would play out if they lived in Argentina or in London. Often the lives of the characters in Dublin are marked by emotional and mental paralysis.

The first story that comes to mind is “A Little Cloud,” in which Little Chandler looks admiringly to Ignatius Gallaher, who has escaped the stagnation of Dublin and has made a name for himself in London. Chandler envies Gallaher and thinks that if he could get away to London, he would surely succeed socially and financially.

Gabriel Conroy, of “The Dead,” is no different. Conroy also seeks to escape Ireland. He tries to separate himself from his country. When Ms. Ivors challenges his interest in foreign languages, Conroy claims, “‘Well, . . . if it comes to that, you know, Irish is not my language’” (161). He doesn’t see himself as an Irishman.

However, while Chandler’s yearning for escape is rooted in his desire for affluence and reputation, Conroy’s is also somewhat due to his belief that Ireland is culturally lacking. Being a part of the financial upper class, he seeks a cultural richness that he believes can only be found in continental Europe, as we see when he defends his cycling tour to France, saying, “‘Well, . . . it’s partly to keep in touch with the languages and partly for a change’” (161). The repetition of “well” as Conroy’s sentence-starter shows not only his unease about trying to escape from Ireland, but also the fact that he cannot explain why he wants to leave Dublin. He doesn’t really have any specific reasons, but he just wants the reputation that goes along with vacationing in Europe.

As “A Little Cloud” ends with Little Chandler’s dreams of escape being crushed, “The Dead” concludes with Conroy looking west, thinking about his “journey westward,” the Bog of Allen, and the Shannon waves. At the conclusion of “The Dead,” the reader sees hope that even in Conroy’s dark acceptance of his relationship with his wife and with his country, there remains a chance of returning at least in part to his traditional Irish heritage.

After “dissing” Ireland throughout his whole collection, does Joyce think there is hope for progress if the Irish, instead of trying to escape the problem of Irish stagnation, try to fix it?