Upon reading the Pecora and Norris articles, I began to think about the role in which Gabriel plays and his relationship with Joyce’s notion of Irish identity. Gabriel exists as more than a character with a singular expression and singular representation. Pecora’s interpretation of “The Dead,” involved Gabriel imbibing in a passive acceptance of “political and cultural stereotypes that Joyce thought were the product of Ireland’s political and cultural victimization,” (347). Gabriel is clearly identified as a symbol of a sort of Irish victimhood that has been reified through culture.

Norris examines the peculiarities of Gabriel’s perception of reality. Norris includes the Possible Worlds theory to explain Gabriel’s inability to focus on one world which prevents him from being able to fully separate reality from wish-world. His knowledge world is full of holes that are patched with aspects of his wish-world, preventing clarity. Norris provides a more psychological oriented examination of Gabriel which is useful in explaining Pecora’s prescription of Gabriel’s victimhood.

I applied Norris’ Possible Worlds theory in conjunction with Pecora’s interpretation, attempting to reconcile Gabriel’s role as a symbol with his delusion. If Joyce was actually attempting to explicate the relationship between the Irish identity and reality in terms of culture and victimhood, what is the implication of Gabriel’s character? Can he be seen as a representation of Irish identity? I would be curious as to know if Joyce would endorse Norris’ application of the Possible Worlds theory if it were to be applied more broadly to the Irish people as a whole. If Pecora has identified Gabriel as a sort of symbol, can Norris’ psychological assessment be seen as ubiquitously applied towards the Irish?