Read about "The Dead"
The Journey Westward
Class Discussion Questions:
- What is ironic about the first line of the narrative? What kind of irony is this? How are the narrator's words an example of free indirect discourse?
- What happens to the narrative voice when Gabriel finally arrives to the party?
- How does Gabriel see himself? What is he worried about in the first half of the story?
- Given his preoccupations and anxiety, what seems to be the problem with Gabriel? What is his besetting personality trait that helps explain why so much of the narrative gives us access to his mind?
- How does Gabriel think? Where are some other examples of the way his mind works?
- What two-worded descriptor does Gabriel use in the narrative, once to describe "music" and once to describe "the age"? What is the significance of this phrase in helping us understand Gabriel?
- How does Gabriel think of his wife when he sees her standing on the stairs? What is the name of the painting he would paint?
- How does Gabriel begin to think of his wife once they are on the back to their hotel? What starts to happen inside his mind, as a result?
- How does Gabriel respond to humiliation?
- Does Gabriel have an epiphany? What is he doing when it occurs? And what is the result of this epiphany, if any?
