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Allusions
Dialect
Explanation and Analysis—Everyday Speech:
"The Dead," set in Dublin, Ireland, makes use of a specific Irish dialect in places, clearly demarcating the story as a work of Irish literature and providing a feel for the texture of everyday Irish life. Though Joyce's use of dialect is somewhat more subtle in "The Dead" than in his 1922 novel Ulysses—in which characters' dialogue is often written exactly as they would speak it—characters in the story use phrases and colloquialisms unique to Irish culture in Dublin, which might be unfamiliar to non-Irish readers.
Miss Ivors tells Gabriel that she has "a crow to pluck" with him (or a bone to pick with him); other terms used by characters, like "palaver" (chitchat) and "grand" (great), may be understandable from context clues. The story also features two words in Irish Gaelic: "Beannacht libh," or "blessings to you," which Miss Ivors—a staunch Irish nationalist who believes in the importance of preserving the Irish language and protecting Irish culture from British incursion—uses as a farewell as she leaves the party. Gabriel's own dialogue is noticeably free from Irish lingo and slang, reflecting his own lack of loyalty to Irish culture and the pride he takes in his erudition and high level of education. ("Irish is not my language," he tells Miss Ivors.) Yet his dialogue remains as naturalistic and unstilted as the other characters', helping to transport the reader to the scene of the party and offer a window into daily Irish life.
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