The Cyclops Analysis

The British have reigned over the Irish so long and so cruelly that they have left Ireland in “state of dependence” psychologically, politically, and economically. In other words, the “ideology of Protestant consumption” has “actually eroded” the self-confidence and sense of worth of the Irish so badly that it has left Ireland a nation unable to sustain itself (Mahoney). England is eating up Ireland. But this tribulation cannot be blamed solely on the British. Swift cleverly condemns the British aristocracy for their mistreatment of the Irish people while also criticizing the Irish people for allowing this exploitation.

Although, when explaining how the half man half ox came to be, the man having relations with the ox was not subject to dishonor, but instead it was said to just be “a particular vice of that people”(74). Here, Gerald suggests that although it was a man that acted dishonorably something beautiful came out of it, while the children of the bestial women are not spoken of most likely because they were so wretched. Gerald seems to be relating cultural hybridity to the act of interspecies crossbreeding, ultimately allowing the reader to relate it to filth. By showing different forms of miscegenation, Gerald makes each variation seem negative to his readers, which makes Ireland as a whole look like a place for hybrid “mongrels”.

    In the early twentieth century, Ireland, and more specifically Dublin, was a place defined by class distinctions. There were the wealthy, worldly upper-class who owned large, stately townhouses in the luxurious neighborhoods and the less fortunate, uneducated poor who lived in any shack they could afford in the middle of the city. For the most part, the affluent class was Protestant, while the struggling workers were overwhelmingly Catholic. These distinctions were the result of nearly a century of disparity in income, education, language, and occupation, and in turn were the fundamental bases for the internal struggle that many of Joyce's characters feel.

In the essay “Under the Influence,” Scott Russell Sanders uses his recollection and metaphors to portray an image of his father’s drinking customs. While certain people believe that children who are raised in a home with a drunk often follow in their footsteps, Sanders did the paradoxical and became a man whom his father was not. Although nothing but disappointment was demonstrated throughout the manuscript, Sanders made a connection with himself and his father. The relation contrived was his father 's afflicting dependence for alcohol and his uplifting addiction to working. Although plentiful children suffer from growing up with a guardian who has an addiction obstacle, Sanders overcame his misery by concentrating on himself and becoming a “workaholic”.

After explaining a situation where a friend has Barry and other friends help him move out of his apartment in exchange for beer, we learn through Barry’s underlying declarative sentence structure that drinking on the job is a bad idea. It is as if he asks the question, ‘why do we advertise that it is ok to drink while working, when everyone knows it is a terrible idea’ (191). We also see that through his sentence structure that it truly is not ‘American’ to be irresponsible and drink beer while working. We also learn about Dave Barry’s disagreements with ‘retail patriotism’ through his informal writing style.

The aspect of community life I have chosen to explore is the ‘drinking culture’ within Ardoyne. In the small area that is Ardoyne there are eight pubs, five of which being night clubs. I feel that this environment is contributing to the many issues facing the community of Ardoyne.

In today’s society, alcohol has become one of the main necessities for people to create relaxation, confidence, and the ability to be social. In the short story “A Bartender Tells What Man Did to Booze, and Booze to Man”, an anonymous bartender gives an up close and personal account of his observations about the effects alcohol has on men. He emphasizes the change in their character after a few drinks. Koren Zailckas from Smashed shares a memoir of her life describing her relationship with alcohol abuse and the problems that it caused for her. Although certain types of alcohol are used to support good health, it is the excessive consumption and misuse that leaves people dependent resulting in significant social, physical, and mental

Drinking is another item that is symbolized in the story. The drinks that the American

Joyce 's novel demonstrates a city and a society full of contradictions, parochial ideas, and paralysis. The Dublin inhabitants are divided by the river Liffey, into 'North and South ', 'rich and poor classes

When Joyce applies personification to the setting, he creates the mood of the story, and directs the reader to the double meanings found in the personified setting. As an example of mood, winter brings with it the connotation of impending gloom, as the narrator claims, "...the houses had grown sombre...the lamps of the street lifted their feeble lanterns" (379). This idea of Winter casts itself as the mood, where the feeling of awkward introspection is predominant. The lamps like the people of Dublin, have grown weary of there own, during Ireland's own battle with identity. In the broader scope of Joyce's imagery for the short story, it may be said Ireland itself is like the adolescent struggling to find its way. Joyce's messages of "complacency" during the tremendous social and political upheaval are encapsulated in the stories like "Araby," that collectively represent the book "Dubliners."

Identity is pivotal to the story and holds its own innate power, but what is even more pivotal is that the Irish do not necessarily all share the same views. The Irish find their history very important because it is the foundation of the language. Hugh says, “It is not the literal past, the ‘facts’ of history, that shape us, but images of the past embodied in language” (88). It is evident then that Hugh finds the historical meanings of

The entire proposal stands as a satire in itself; an analogy paralleling the tyrannical attitude of the British toward their Irish

The history of Ireland is one of early scholasticism and rich culture in times when the rest of Europe had less of a literary and artistic tradition. By the time of Hyde’s speech, the nation had become “one of the least studious and most un-literary”3 countries of the area, and he claims that the fault lies in a divergence from “the right path.”4 Progressive Anglicization has led the Irish to forget their own culture and its traditions. The British claim that because the Irish have forgotten much of their language and customs, they should be content as an integral part of the United Kingdom, and

Kevin Barry portrays the economic growth that the Irish society lived during the time he was writing Dark Lies in the Island. “Wifey Redux” depicts the easiness and flexibility that let young people to be owners of, for instance, their own house, and it was due, principally, for the Celtic Tiger, also known as the Irish economic growth fuelled by foreign investment between the 1990s and the 2000s. The young couple could even afford one of them staying at home without working, thus “Hubby went to work, and Wifey stayed at home” (9), but they were an “absolutely equal partnership.”

In the Bissula, alcohol plays a key role as the interpretive control. Ausonius addresses the reader directly, proclaiming that his poems are unserious. He writes that “I follow Thymele” (4), classifying his work as relaxing entertainment more than serious literature. Indeed, he requests that the reader “drink before you read” (6) in order to best understand the poem. While alcohol is typically associated with confusion and dulled wit, Ausonius claims that the drunk reader “will get wise to me” (8). With this subversion of expectations, Ausonius proclaims drink as a tool to achieve