The Dead (Dubliners by James Joyce) - Analysis

The Dead is the title of the last tale of the collection of stories called Dubliners.
I think James Joyce sets its at the end because it is the conclusion of the analysis developed in the other stories.

The title "The Dead" refers to the main character Gabriel, who discovers his incapacity to react and simply to live (main themes developed in the tale) in particular when he compares himself with Michael Furey, a boy who is dead for the love of Gabriel's wife.

The story takes place in three different settings: in a closed space (aunts' house, where the party happens), in an open space and in another closed space (the hotel, where Gabriel spends the night with his wife).

Joyce starts the story presenting the Morkans, while they take part in a party organized by the aunts Kate and Julia, and in particular the main character Gabriel, whose physical description isn't given us but the narrator introduces him during the his conversation with Lily.

The narrator isn't omniscient: he doesn't physically describe the characters (they are represented through their speeches) and he never judges to help the reader to analyse the text.
Joyce chooses to report speeches (Gabriel-Lily and Gabriel-miss Ivors) full of incomprehension that reflect the difficult use of language in the modern era.