After reading James Joyce's "Ivy Day in the Committee Room," I hit my head against the desk and woke up. That is to say, I didn't enjoy this reading. The back story is given in vague, upper-class discussions and nearly all of these are political and impossible to invest myself in. The only times I was able to pay attention was when there was a given description and everyone had shut up. I was able to find a few things I found interesting when they were NOT talking: the cigarettes, the alcohol, ivy, and bottles slowly opening.
It would be much simpler to construe what is meant within these statements if I hadn't been so, well, bored by the story. (And I am sorry to be so negative of this piece, I'm sure there is a lot of it I'm missing that will come to light in class discussion, but as of now I'm unimpressed.)
From what I could gather, the story is based around the anniversary of the death of this league's previous beloved president. I suppose that is what makes this the "Ivy Day."
The bottle slowly opening, I suppose, is supposed to be based on the fact that we are slowly gathering the meaning behind the story until we finally have that revelation. Otherwise, they could represent how countries are gaining freedom, and Ireland is the last to "pok" open.
The ivy is meant to be the meaning behind this group: slowly growing and spreading its opinions and freedom around the spirit of Ireland. Hence, we are given their concerns in whether others will be voting with them or against.
The alcohol is something to numb the nation, and especially to numb its youth. The drunkard child of Jack and the kid who comes with the bottles both drink, and so are introduced to escape from what's around them. Perhaps this is meant to parallel the actual rampant drinking in Ireland?
Lastly, the cigarettes are mostly a way for Mr. O'Conner to hide emotion. We see him using them or getting them out whenever he might be actually distressed, and the final lines say, quite explicitly, that they better hide his emotion. The entire day way probably fairly emotional (it being a death anniversary) so he is often messing with them.
I suppose this story is meant to, once again, be a commentary on the state of the suffering Ireland (because two wasn't enough). The people are commemorating and looking to replace their previously loved president, who wanted to fight for Ireland's independence. Now, since he has passed, their ideals are withering and they are losing the will to fight. Perhaps the author means to make a cry for leaders in Ireland, as "September 1918" hoped to do?
I really do not mean to offend anyone invested into this story, and I know I am missing a lot, yet I do not wish to read this particular story again. To me it was bland, and there wasn't anything to make me relate to it. However, the subtle use of symbols within the story was interesting to decipher, and I hope such symbolism will continue into the rest of the course.
I agree, when I first read this story I was uninterested and didn't really understand what was the deeper meaning. I am glad that in our class discussion we dove into some of the characters and the objects in the room. Also, having the background of Ivy Day explained and the election was very helpful. Although this is by no means one of my favorite works, it was a huge help to have the class discussion!
ReplyDeleteI really love your analysis of the use of Ivy, probably because I hadn't made that connection to the piece and therefore thought it very enlightening. I like how you describe the alcohol as a numbing agent, it makes sense. Those who are dependent on such drinks usually do so to numb themselves from something that is bothering them, so like that connection. ALSO, I agree with your last paragraph. This was not my favorite story and hope I never have to revisit it again!
ReplyDeleteI also really struggled reading this story as well and I guess maybe because it's a small part of a larger story. Regardless, I really enjoyed reading your breeakdown of all the different symbols. I think that is a great way to understand the story. I really liked reading your interpretation of the alcohol. The numbing of the youth is very inventive and I think very accurate.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of the story, myself. I think "The Dead" is a better one from Dubliners, but I wanted something we could cover in a day or two. I had a similar reaction upon finishing the story--and I've read it before--except that mine also involved "Great... how and I going to teach this?" The lack of a focus in the story--or a single perspective--combined with so many different characters makes it difficult to approach.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the story was pretty dry, but what frustrated me was that in the end we figured out in class that the characters had wasted away the day in accomplishing absolutely nothing. Granted that it is a day to more so think about what the day and the group represents than actually getting "stuff" done, but they didn't even seem to do that. It would be like forming a committee to help everyone remember what happened on 9/11 or raise funds for the families that lost loved ones, but do absolutely nothing except complain about the weather, each other and completely avoid the reason for a group to be formed.
ReplyDeleteI know people can get caught up in the moment, but like you said it is a totally different class of people where they believe that society should work for them, they receive all the benefits and they should not lift a finger to work. So as boring as it was I just got really more so frustrated with the entire piece.