Neither the child nor the adults added to the readers' understanding of the plot.'
written by Anna Pietruszka
`The Sisters' is a short story by Joyce which tells the story of death, but is it an ordinary death of an ordinary person? Definitely not, everybody who reads it has mixed feeling about the plot. Whether the child was too much under the dead priest's influence or people had too much prejudice against the clergyman. The plot is not easy to follow, despite the fact, that it is told from a child's perspective. Moreover, neither the child nor the adults added to the understanding of the plot.
To start with the child's point of view. The boy is not aware of the true nature of the priest. The clergyman was his teacher. He taught him `a great deal', for this reason the boy is really grateful to the priest. He sees only the good virtues in his teacher. The boy is an inexperienced narrator, who does not understand the priest's behaviour and illness. He is the child and a child is not able to distinguish bad from good. Moreover, as stated in an article entitled `The Dubliners' `because of his youth, the boy is an honest but unreliable narrator'. The child does not posses any wisdom of adults. The readers are only exposed to the surface description of the priest. We get to know that the clergyman was a strict and fair teacher and taught the boy many things. Yet, nothing more about the character of the clergyman is revealed by the boy. Undoubtedly. the child is too young to understand the priest's illness and depression.
With references to a previous idea, a quote from `The Sisters': `he had taught me a great deal. He had studied in the Irish college in Rome and he had taught me to pronounce Latin properly. He had told me stories about the catacombs and about Napoleon Bonaparte, and he had explained to me the meaning of the different ceremonies of the Mass and of the different vestments worn by the priest' may indicate that the child adds to the understanding of the plot, because he explains how much the priest taught him. However, it is only partially true. The boy appreciates the knowledge he received from the priest but he does not give the readers insight into the priest's character. The readers are only left with the bare facts that he was his teacher and taught him a lot. Nothing about the true nature of the priest is expressed by the boy. For this reason it is widely seen that the boy did not add to the understanding of the plot.
At the beginning of this short story, the readers are exposed to the positive opinion about the priest. The boy seems to like the clergyman, however, with time such judgment fades away. As to quote the boy: 'discovering in myself a sensation of freedom as if I had been freed from something by his death.' The readers are confused and cannot distinguish whether the priest was a mentor to the boy or a bad influence. Moreover, at first the boy explains his doubts and comment on the adults' conversation. He considers situation which happened in his mind and thinks over all the words he heard. Unfortunately, with time such expressions disappear and we are not exposed to the child's opinions and thoughts. A quote from an article entitled `Dubliners Summary and Analysis ` fully comprehend to previously mentioned idea:' towards the end of the story, he stops interpreting the information he receives. He listens to the conversation between his mother and the two sisters, but he does not draw any conclusions from it'. Such effects also unable the readers to understand the whole action completely.
As far as the adults are concerned, they also do not add to the understanding of the plot. First and foremost, they do not say exactly what has happened to the priest. Opinions that' there was something uncanny about him' are expressed freely. The adults only state that he might have mental problems. Even the priest's sister, Eliza, breaks her speech whenever she is going to say something that may be considered as disdainful about the dead priest. The receivers of the story do not know for sure if the priest set a bad example to the child or not. The uncle of the boy appreciates the friendship between the priest and his relative 'The youngster and he were great friends. The old chap taught him a great deal, mind you; and they say he had a great wish for him' .On the other hand, a friend of the family's (Old Cotter) is against such close relationship between the clergyman and the boy. He states that the child should spend time with boys at his age and not with an experienced ,old priest. The readers are puzzled and do not know whom to believe. Moreover, Old Cotter's speech is full of unfinished sentences and pauses. He wanted to say something about the true nature of the priest, but the boy's presence unabled him to tell the truth about the clergyman. The readers cannot interpret his words fully as nothing more is mentioned by the speaker. He leaves the sentences in half.
In addition to the this, the adults were prejudiced against the priest. The clergyman was Catholic and the author was deeply anti-catholic. From all the conversations between the adults a negative attitude towards the priest is expressed. Even the great friendship between the cleric and the boy is put into question. Old Cotter suggests that the clergyman had been a bad example from which the boy was freed.
Joyce includes symbolism in his short story. This also makes the story difficult to understand. Without knowledge what symbols as breaking the chalice mean the readers are not able to understand the story fully. What is more, the priest's paralysis refers also to the paralysis of the Catholic religion and people's disappointment. The Church is symbolized by the priest because he stands for all the clergy of the Catholic Church. He followed the rules of the church, he has tried to teach young boys, however, he did not manage to succeed. Although the adults were grateful that the priest taught the boy they were not able to withdraw the prejudice they felt towards a Catholic priest. The readers do not know whether they should believe in their opinions as they were anti-Catholic people and saw only bad sides in the priest's behaviour.
`The Sister' is a short story that is full of symbolism and references to the Catholic religion. It is told by a child, however the language used by the narrator is an adult one. The boy's narration is vivid at the beginning, but towards the end it changes. The narrator does not express his opinions and felling anymore, only bare facts are left to the readers. For these reasons the plot is difficult to follow. The adults do not help the reader understand the plot, either. To sum up, the receivers of the short story cannot fully believe none of the sides who describe the priest. As the boy treated the clergyman as a mentor and was grateful for the knowledge he received and adults looked only on strange behaviour of the priest and were prejudiced against the Catholic clergyman.
Bibliography
1. Joyce J., `The Sisters' [http://www.readbookonline.net/read/154/4457/]
2. http://www.gradesaver.com/dubliners/study-guide/section1/
`The Sisters ' by Joyce
http://www.gradesaver.com/dubliners/study-guide/section1/
`The Sisters ' by Joyce
`The Sisters ' by Joyce
http://www.gradesaver.com/dubliners/study-guide/section1/
`The Sisters ' by Joyce
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