The Dead is a short story by J.Joyce. It belongs to The Dubliners ,collection of short stories and it is the final story of collection.

The protagonist is Gabriel Conroy who is man of letter, he is married to Gretta, country woman.

Gabriel's name recalls the archangel Gabriel who had to announce Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, but Gabriel does not succeed in doing what he wants. It seems that in the story revelations is turned upside down and this makes Gabriel paralyzed as all other characters in The Dubliners. His mother and his family did not want him to marry to Gretta because she was considered a woman from a country, but this demonstrates that he was capable of autonomy unlike Eveline.

The readers know Gabriel inside the annual party he takes part in. The party is organized by his aunts who are interested in listening to the music and the party become social event(The Dead in the collection presents public life). The people that take part in party are not necessarily people interested in music but they are common persons that considered it as a habits and they did not wanted to leave them(concept of paralysis).

Gabriel was an important person of party and everyone was waiting for him because he had to hold the speech, as every year. So the first part of story is about the arrival of guests and Gabriel, but as soon as he enter the house he makes errors in communication with Lilly, so the reader can understand that Gabriel is ambiguous character. He asked her if she had got a boyfriend, because the marriage was a solution for women after school. The reader can also see that he was trendy, he followed fashion because he wore galoshes popular in the rest of Europe.

There is also a hint to the divided society between men and women because they had to leave their clothes in different places. But Gretta was not conventional wife, he did not obey him while the conventional wife follows her husband while she is not subdued and he is much more in love and he accepts her.

There is also presentation of external ambient and outside is snowing, it is cold, but snow can represent the freedom, but people prefers the party which is organized every year and always the same people take part in it, there are always the same things, dance, dinner, speech, drunk people etc. so the reader understands that the people is slave of conventions, they are paralyzed.

There is important conversation during the party between Gabriel and Miss. Ivors. Gabriel presents unionists and Miss. Ivors nationalists, the latter wanted Ireland to unify to the G.B. and former want Ireland to stay independent.

The dinner can also represent The Last Supper and Gabriel can represent Christ with his speech, so there is also theme of religion, always present in Joyce.

Gabriel considers himself superior then others, so he did not use quotation from some poem because people would not be able to understand it, but at the end of the story he understands that his speech betrayed him. That demonstrates his ambiguity because he is also protective, man of letters...