Essay on The Modern Relevance of Themes in James Joyces...

James Joyce is widely considered to be one of the best authors of the 20th century. One of James Joyce’s most celebrated short stories is â€Å"Eveline.† This short story explores the theme of order and hazard and takes a critical look at life in Dublin, Ireland in the early 20th century. Furthermore, the themes that underlie â€Å"Eveline† were not only relevant for the time the story was wrote in, but are just as relevant today. The major theme explored in â€Å"Eveline† is the idea of order and hazard. In society, the idea of order has a lot more positive connotation than hazard. People often quote popular sayings such as â€Å"life is not always greener on the other side of the pastor† to indicate this belief. Contrary, the idea of taking†¦show more content†¦A second group of readers however see Joyce’s reaction to Eveline as uncompassionate. These readers do not blame Eveline for not choosing to take a chance, but rathe r see Eveline as a sympathetic character. These people look at the decision that Eveline is faced with as very fortuitous, and therefore hold the belief that Eveline cannot be blamed for her decision not to leave Dublin. Other critics of Joyce have seen his fierce criticism of Eveline as chauvinistic. This argument is based on the idea that Joyce, a male author, does not have the right to criticize a female character, in this case Eveline. Furthermore, there is evidence outside of his criticism of Eveline that some would say furthers the case of Joyce’s chauvinism. For example Joyce was once quoted as saying, â€Å"Men are governed by lines of intellect - women: by curves of emotion (Think Exist).† Many quotes said by Joyce such as this one could be viewed as chauvinistic. Whether or not Joyce’s criticism of Eveline is chauvinistic is up for debate, but one could definitely make the case that it is. Another major theme of â€Å"Eveline† is Joyceâ €™s criticism of life in Dublin in the early 20th century. One criticism Joyce has of the people of Dublin was covered above ,which, is he believed that they settled for routine over taking opportunities to make a better life for themselves. Joyce is perhaps critical of this trend to not settle for the normShow MoreRelated James Joyces Eveline and Araby Essay1622 Words   |  7 PagesJames Joyces Eveline and Araby James Joyce uses similar themes and language devices in both Araby and Eveline. Although this is so, there are also important differences to be noted. Joyce wrote these stories over one hundred years ago but yet we can still relate to the issues covered in the modern world today. James Joyce could have written these short stories as an inspiration from his own background or based them on the events happening in Dublin at that