In The Dead (Royce 1-192), Gabriel Conroy as a nephew of his aunt that is known to handle every problem himself is presented as a character that is well cautious and possesses certain authority. However, his self-confidence is put into question as he encounters two women at the party. Gabriel reflects on his life and finds it controlled and lacking the passion of any kind. He then admits that people like Michael Furey have a large amount of passion and live more happily. More than that, Gabriel regrets that he never knew true love that leaves a mark on one’s heart. I find this reflection hard to disagree. Indeed, people that sacrifice all the human qualities to become reserved and serious may lose everything that these traits represent. There is no need to be reserved when there is no risk to say something that people would not like, for instance. Thus, Gabriel’s biggest issue is his lack of any goal or meaning of life.
The problem presented in Likable (Unferth 1-3) is one that a lot of people experience. More precisely, a lot of individuals that did not have any extraordinary experience go through this. This is a problem of overthinking and overanalyzing. The character of this short story seems to have long lost her belief in her personality and that she may appear likable to anybody. However, there is indeed a possibility that she is unlikable. This could be caused by numerous reasons. Maybe it is her personality or the way she looks. The only thing who is certain is the fact that she does not like herself. As it is often stated, one cannot be loved unless they love themselves. Thus, the protagonist is trapped in this fear of becoming “thoroughly unlikeable person,” while failing to understand that nobody will like her more than she will.
Works Cited
Royce, James. Dubliners. Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classics, 2006.
Unferth, Deb Olin. “Likeable.” Catapult, catapult.co/stories/likable#. 2017.