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Christian Symbolism in James Joyce's the Sisters

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James Joyce's "The Sisters" is full of Christian symbolisms. They play a very important part in the story because the symbolism accomplishes the story (by giving new meanings to things/behaviors) and most important-helps us understand it better. While reading "The Sisters" carefully and looking "between the lines" for things (with symbolic meaning) that are only hinted at and not said openly we can discover many interesting things that can bee seen only by understanding the symbols' meanings. One of the first symbols in the story is in the Father Flynn character (he is a priest). The Church is symbolized by the priest because he stands for all the clergy of the Catholic Church. He has followed the rules of the church, he has …show more content…

The "smile" and the "moist with spittle" lips are provoking troubling questions because smiling and "spittle on the lips" are akin to sexuality. It makes the reader suspect that maybe there was something sexual between the boy and the priest. James Joyce has done quite a job of peaking our interest in what follows, hinting at themes he considers important by using symbols. The use of symbols is one of the reasons that make Joyce's works so accomplished. Those symbols make us read the story carefully and understand its deep meaning. They intrigue us and keep us guessing after reading what exactly the writer has meant in his

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