James Joyce's Dubliners is a collection of short stories that aims to portray middle-class life in Dublin, Ireland, in the early 20th century. Most of the stories are written with themes such as entrapment, paralysis, and epiphany, which are central to the flow of the story collection as a whole. Characters are usually limited financially, socially, and/or by their environment; they realize towards the end of each story that they cannot escape their unfortunate situation in Dublin. These stories show Joyce's negative opinion towards the ancient Irish city. The final story, “The Dead,” was added later than the others; as a result, “The Dead” has a more positive tone and often stands as an exception to generalizations made about Dubliners. An example of the distinction of “The Dead” is in Joyce's use of sensory imagery. In stories such as "Araby" and "A Painful Case", Joyce depicts hearing and vision loss through the use of descriptive imagery to describe the perpetual paralysis and resulting limitation the character is experiencing; however, in "The Dead", the main character develops more sensitive hearing abilities to demonstrate the emergence of an opportunity to escape his unfortunate circumstances in Dublin. Joyce emphasizes the nameless narrator's unrealistic view of life in "Araby" by showing his loss of sight. The boy is infatuated with his friend's older sister, Mangan, and often secretly watches her. In the comfort of his own home, he routinely “lays on the floor” and makes sure the blinds are “drawn down to within an inch of the sash so that [he] cannot be seen” (Joyce 42). By using the blinds to cover his curious gazes, he is blocking Mangan's sister's vision. He is very determined... middle of paper... who has not escaped paralysis, he believes that escaping his own paralysis is difficult. However, Gabriel's opportunity to escape the life that traps him in "The Dead" shows that it is a possibility for anyone willing to open their eyes and see a way out. Works Cited Coleman, Grant Bernard, "Imagination, Illusion and Vision in James Joyce's The Dubliners" (2012). Open access theses and term papers. Paper 6951.Donovan, Stephen. “Dead Men’s News: “A Painful Case” of Joyce and the Modern Press.” Journal of Modern Literature 24.1 (2000): 24-45. Web.Ehrlich, Heyward. “‘Araby’ in Context: the “Splendid Bazaar,” Irish Orientalism, and James Clarence Mangan.” James Joyce Quarterly 35.2 (1998) 309-331. Web.Friedrich, Gerhard. “Joyce's Dubliners' Perspective.” College English 26.6 (1965): 421-426. Web. Joyce, James. Dubliners. Public domain, 1914. Web.