Abstract

Dubliners is James Joyce’s famous work, a collection of 15 short stories happening in Dublin. They form a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. And the spiritual epiphany, a western equivalent of dunwu, a sudden spiritual manifestation, meaning a moment where a character experiences self-understanding or illumination, is amply and ingeniously applied by Joyce as a literary device in his work Dubliners. And Joyce recognizes the moment of epiphany as a communication between the inner heart and the outer world. He uses the epiphany as a writing technique to express people’s complex thoughts and feelings.

And this thesis aims to discuss the application and significance of the epiphany as a writing technique and its reflection of the theme of spiritual paralysis of Dublin middle class and Irish social life in Dubliners from the characters of different stages——the childhood, adolescence, adulthood and the social life. Most characters in Dubliners are stuck in spiritual paralysis. However, after suffering enough from frustration, they are finally enlightened at a critical moment and find out the situation where they are and have got a better understanding of life.

Key Words: Dubliners, epiphany, spiritual paralysis, writing technique

摘　　要
《都柏林人》是詹姆斯•乔伊斯的著名小说集，由十五个置景于都柏林的短篇小说构成，对二十世纪初都柏林及其周围的爱尔兰中产阶级进行了自然的描绘。而精神顿悟是指瞬间发生的精神感悟，在突然之间受到启发而豁然开朗。乔伊斯把它作为文学手法很好地运用到了《都柏林人》中。乔伊斯把顿悟的瞬间看作一种人物内心与外界的交流活动，并用这种写作手法来阐述人物内心复杂的情愫。
本篇论文将从小说布局的童年期、青年期、成年期和社会生活四个方面来探讨顿悟手法在文中的运用及其折射出的都柏林中产阶级及爱尔兰社会的精神瘫痪主题。大多数都柏林人都处于一种精神瘫痪的状态，然而在经历过一系列挫折之后，终于在某一重要瞬间意识觉醒，对自己的生活及周围的环境有了更清晰的认识。
关键词：《都柏林人》，顿悟，精神瘫痪，创作手法