James Joyce, one of the most prominent modest novelist and poet of the twentieth century, lets symbolism flow freely throughout the story in the final short story in the collection Dubliners, “The Dead”. Joyce utilizes the main characters and objects to impress his view of Dublin, where he was born and grew up, upon his readers with a subtle method in which less visible symbols are woven into the fabric of the prose.
In “The Dead,” Joyce repeatedly mentions the snow, which can represent beauty or something provides people the opportunity to get rest unashamedly. This can also be seen as a symbolism of innocence, playfulness, and intimacy. However, snow can be seen as a symbolism of cruel and oppressive nature as it covers the plants’ ability to gain energy from the sun. It sometimes covers the houses and blocks the roads which makes people being isolated, which can be…show more content… For example, Gabriel struggles with the idea of freedom and embracing himself or his culture. When Molly Ivors, a colleague of Gabriel who is very patriotic about Ireland, rebukes his lack of patriotism, he seems confused and uncomfortable. Similarly, Gretta, his wife, wants to conquer the difficulties in life, even the routine. On the other hand, he was a microcosm for many in Ireland and lived life defensive. Gabriel once says, “…, she’d walk home in the snow if she were let”. The snow in this saying conveys his thoughts of Gretta as a woman in a lack of fear of the rules, the snow in this case, and perhaps even appreciate the snow despite the dangers. At some point, Gabriel wants to protect Gretta from the snow with warmth because snow symbolizes danger in this case as his colleague asserts. In contrast, Gabriel may admire Gretta that she wants to face the snow, the change in this case, head on and enjoy because she is neither frail nor