(not specified) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

(not specified) - Essay ExampleHe apparently suffers from intellectual pretensions and a stupid sense of superiority, considering himself to be a unique figure (Joyce, 5) among ordinary people. His delusions of adventurism and revolutionary socialism are belied by the dreary routine of his life. Except for the saving grace of his feeling for music, nothing relieves the emptiness of his days he even reads his evening paper for dessert (Joyce 6). The uncarpeted rooms and blank walls of his house, the gloomy landscape from his window, and the tatterdemalion distillery all highlight the emptiness of his life.One of the most painful characteristics of Mr. Duffys personality is obviously his attempt to insulate himself from emotion by avoiding any personal contact with people. He lives as outlying(prenominal) as possible from the city of which he was a citizen, (Joyce, 3). Joyces statement that He had neither companions nor friends, perform nor creed (p.4), is indisputable proof of t he barrenness of Mr. Duffys emotional life. He lets nothing, not even the last of his father, disrupt the tedious tenor of his routine. One cannot but suspect that his criticism of an obtuse middle class, (Joyce, 5) is hardly an excuse to justify his inaction on all fronts and limit his contact with people.Mr. Duffys relationship with Emily Sinico gives him the luck to break out of his emotional cocoon. He is willing to share his pseudo-intellectual life with her, and basks in her admiration of his affable pretensions. However, it is beyond his nature to open himself up to her offer of love. He fears to allow the emotionalizing of his mental life blend in to the logical conclusion of the sharing of physical love. He refuses to move from the sterile pseudo-intellectual plane to the passionate take aim of emotion. His selfishness permits him to use Emily only in the role he has assigned to her- that of his