Analysis Pages

Plot in Dubliners

Plot Examples in Dubliners:

An Encounter

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"When we had lain on the bank for some time without speaking I saw a man approaching from the far end of the field..."   (An Encounter)

The boys' adventure to this point has been predictable and fairly uneventful. They have looked at ships, snacked, and worn themselves out—even abandoning their original goal of going to the Pigeon House. They've realized that their goals were unrealistic. It is then ironic that just as they have abandoned any chance for excitement, they in fact have a very unusual encounter with the elderly man.

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"But real adventures, I reflected, do not happen to people who remain at home: they must be sought abroad..."   (An Encounter)

As the narrator has grown a little older and experienced more, he has lost some of the joy he once found in his pretend adventures and battles with his friends. In longing for escape, he has realized that the stories don't provide him with what he needs anymore, and he knows that he must try to seek real adventure on his own. This sets up the plot for this short tale, as the narrator soon embarks on an adventure of his own.

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