Previous
Characters
Old Jack is the elderly caretaker of the political Committee Room where the story takes place. An Irish Nationalist, he is a patriot with seemingly strong political convictions, but he struggles to act on those convictions. As such, he represents the older generation of Irish Nationalists who have failed to act on the commitments and values of their party, leaving the movement mired in corruption and petty disagreement. Symbolically, Joyce represents this state of affairs by making Jack the guardian of the Committee Room’s weak fire, which (although Jack unsuccessfully stokes and fans it throughout the story) never properly lights or heats the room. As the fire represents the spirit of Irish Nationalism, Jack’s ineffectual stoking suggests that the older generation has betrayed the movement, letting its light nearly go out. Jack also embodies the factionalism and distrust that characterizes the party (he is skeptical of Joe Hynes’s party allegiance, for instance), and he demonstrates the party’s hypocrisy. For example, although Jack is bitterly disappointed in his 19-year-old son who has a drinking problem, he follows the other men’s orders and—against his principles—allows a teenaged delivery boy to drink a bottle of stout. This shows Jack’s inability to act on his convictions, and it also casts blame on his generation for corrupting the young, showing that it is partially their fault that Irish Nationalism is in decline.
Old Jack Quotes in Ivy Day in the Committee Room
The Ivy Day in the Committee Room quotes below are all either spoken by Old Jack or refer to Old Jack. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Ivy Day in the Committee Room
Quotes
Old Jack raked the cinders together with a piece of cardboard and spread them judiciously over the whitening dome of coals. When the dome was thinly covered his face lapsed into darkness but, as he set himself to fan the fire again, his crouching shadow ascended the opposite wall and his face slowly re-emerged into light. It was an old man’s face, very bony and hairy. The moist blue eyes blinked at the fire and the moist mouth fell open at times, munching once or twice mechanically when it closed.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Musha, God be with them times! said the old man. There was some life in it then.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
He told me: What do you think of a Lord Mayor of Dublin sending out for a pound of chops for his dinner? How’s that for a high living? says he. Wisha! wisha, says I. A pound of chops, says he, coming into the Mansion House. Wisha! says I, what kind of people is going at all now?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Ivy Day in the Committee Room LitChart as a printable PDF.
Old Jack Quotes in Ivy Day in the Committee Room
The Ivy Day in the Committee Room quotes below are all either spoken by Old Jack or refer to Old Jack. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Ivy Day in the Committee Room
Quotes
Old Jack raked the cinders together with a piece of cardboard and spread them judiciously over the whitening dome of coals. When the dome was thinly covered his face lapsed into darkness but, as he set himself to fan the fire again, his crouching shadow ascended the opposite wall and his face slowly re-emerged into light. It was an old man’s face, very bony and hairy. The moist blue eyes blinked at the fire and the moist mouth fell open at times, munching once or twice mechanically when it closed.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Musha, God be with them times! said the old man. There was some life in it then.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
He told me: What do you think of a Lord Mayor of Dublin sending out for a pound of chops for his dinner? How’s that for a high living? says he. Wisha! wisha, says I. A pound of chops, says he, coming into the Mansion House. Wisha! says I, what kind of people is going at all now?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
