The Sisters

“Every night as I gazed up at the window I said softly to myself the word paralysis.”

This quote introduces the layered theme of paralysis, with the narrator repeating the word aloud. James Joyce uses the lack of punctuation in this run-on sentence order to mirror the narrator’s thought process. It also characterizes the narrator as thoughtful and interested in complex ideas.

“—No, I wouldn’t say he was exactly […] but there was something queer […] there was something uncanny about him. I’ll tell you my opinion.”

Mr. Cotter’s vague remark about Father Flynn exemplifies Joyce’s use of ellipses to reflect pauses in dialogue. It is also emblematic of the fact that most of the characterization and plot detail is conveyed through dialogue. In this instance, what is not said is more important that what is, and Joyce uses this technique to build suspense.

“It was late when I fell asleep. Though I was angry with old Cotter for alluding to me as a child I puzzled my head to extract meaning from his unfinished sentences. In the dark of my room I imagined that I saw again the heavy grey face of the paralytic.”

The narrator’s annoyance with Mr. Cotter’s condescending treatment helps characterize the narrator and reveal how he sees himself as a young man, not a child. The abrupt shift from the narrator’s attempt to “extract meaning from [Mr. Cotter’s] unfinished sentences” to the disturbing image of the paralyzed person hides any clear interpretation from the reader. Joyce therefore increases the reader’s curiosity about the missing details.