Modernist Literary Technique: Stream of Consciousness in "The Dead"

The Dead
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“The Dead”
James Joyce, the author of The Dead “1914), is a pioneer of modernist literary techniques, such as stream of consciousness. A social occasion is the story’s setting based on a party that Gabriel Conroy’s aunts throws. After Gabriel arrives with his wife, Gretta, he comments on how long it takes her to get dressed. “The Dead” is renowned for its analogy of history and how the storyline relates to time difficulties and life struggles. The author evokes self-realization, paralysis, and death as the main themes. The use of free indirect discourse is one of the key features of “The Dead”. In the storyline, Joyce focuses on the inner speech of the characters, such as Gabriel Conroy, while expediting a detachment from other characters.
The use of foil is a key literary technique that Joyce utilizes to reveal Gabriel's traits, information, and motivations. The technique draws attention to the character traits of the protagonist. In “The Dead”, Joyce explores the character of Gabriel while exploring his thoughts and emotions ( Joyce, 225). He uses Michael Furey as a long-dead character to help understand Gabriel as the protagonist. However, the characters have different personalities in every way. Although Gabriel is educated, he perceives the world with less passion as Michael. The former is a reasonable individual based on his extensive exposure and schooling. However, the narrator portrays him struggling in an overcoat before he goes out.
On the contrary, Michael Furey is a passionate individual who can do anything out of love and motivation. After learnin...