Abstract

The Dead is the last article in Dubliners, and the structure of Dubliner reflects the shadow of paralysis, which covers all stages of life in Ireland, severely destroying the hearts of all ages. The Dead described a simple story that Gabriel, a sensitive, humorous, educated senior intellectual, and his wife attended a party at his aunts’ house. His spirit was hit twice by Lily and Ivors at the party. And his mental was hit for the third time when he wanted to have sex with his wife after the party, and the last blow made him have the epiphany related to life and death. The Dead is the summary of the previous novels, which manifested the symbol of death heavily and deeply. This paper focus on the analysis of five aspects of the symbol of death in The Dead to reveal the death philosophy of Joyce, including names and destiny of characters, some details at the party, disappearance of Irish culture and the “snow”.