English with Mrs. Lamp

Why Dubliners, by James Joyce, Is A Must-Teach Text for AP Literature Classes

We all want to find texts that challenge our students, spark meaningful discussions, and provide rich material for literary analysis. James Joyce’s Dubliners is one of my favorite texts because it can do all this and more. This short story collection provides you with a wealth of opportunities to develop your students’ critical thinking skills and help them engage with complex themes. Here’s why Dubliners should be on your AP Lit syllabus and what I’ve done in my classroom to teach it as effectively as possible!

Why Teach Dubliners?

1. Literary Techniques: Joyce’s collection is a masterclass in modernist writing, showcasing techniques like stream of consciousness, epiphany, and symbolism. Students can dissect these elements, honing their analytical skills.
2. Thematic Depth: From paralysis to identity to decay to renewal, Dubliners explores universal themes that resonate with students and provide ample material for in-depth discussions and essays.
3. Historical and Cultural Context: Set in early 20th century Dublin, the stories offer a window into Irish society, allowing students to explore the interplay between literature and history.
4. Varied Perspectives: The collection’s structure, moving from childhood to public life, gives students the chance to analyze character development and societal roles across different life stages. It’s also a great opportunity to dive into the Narration/Perspective strand of AP Lit’s “Big Ideas” skills.
5. Preparation for AP Exam: The complexity of Joyce’s writing prepares students for the rigorous analysis required in the AP Literature exam in May!

How to Teach Dubliners Effectively

Teaching Dubliners can be challenging, especially because as a collection of loosely interrelated short stories, it’s quite different from most of the full-length works we study in our ELA classrooms.

Here’s what I do to ensure the unit goes smoothly. If you try these techniques, your students will find this unit fun & exciting–never bland, boring, or “old-timey”!

1. Context is Key: Students really need some background knowledge to be able to get into this one, so a good context reading that offers essential historical, social, and literary background is 100% necessary to help students situate the stories within their broader context.
2. Guided Analysis: The text is dense, so I like to help make sure my students will grasp key elements of character development, setting, narrative structure, point of view, literary devices, and thematic content. I like to use chapter (or “story,” for this one) questions to accomplish this, using a variety of activities, from discussion to short answer quizzes to small group presentations!
3. Flexible Assessment: To keep things fresh, rather than giving boring reading quizzes all the time, I like to mix it up & use my reading questions for mini-essays, group quizzes, class discussions, and even stations, which keeps students engaged and excited for class!
4. Deep Dive for the Summative: You’ll need a variety of essay prompts that will encourage your students to explore motifs, religious and color symbolism, allusions, character development and more across multiple stories. It’s best to try to get your students to weave together multiple stories as they tackle the prompt. This way, they show that they understand how the collection works as a whole!

We all know that Joyce is regarded as a literary genius, but how many of us have really gotten into his work? Ulysses can be pretty daunting. But Dubliners showcases his talent AND draws in  readers with its vivid and memorable characters, hard-hitting epiphanies, and honest realism.

By incorporating “Dubliners” into your AP Lit curriculum, you’ll provide your students with a rich, rewarding literary experience. They’ll develop the analytical skills needed for success in AP Lit and beyond, all while exploring one of the most influential works of modernist literature.

If you want my ready-to-use materials aligned to AP Lit “Big Ideas” and Common Core standards (so you can focus on facilitating learning rather than creating materials from scratch!), you can grab my full unit here. I’ve tweaked and tested it since 2011 to make sure it has the perfect blend of rigorous analysis and engaging activities to ensure my students are well-prepared for the AP Lit exam, and I know your students will love it just as much as mine do!

BONUS: Here’s what I do for an introductory mini-unit prior to starting Dubliners!

Assessment:

• Free Poetry Analysis Tool on My TPT Page!
• Poetry Explication Assignment, Directions, and Samples (on my TPT store)

American Poetry:

• Chicago, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)
• Dawn, William Carlos Williams
• The Snow Man, Wallace Stevens
• Acquainted with the Night, Robert Frost (1874-1963)
• As I Walked Out One Evening, W. H. Auden (1907-1973)
• a total stranger one black day, ee cummings (1894-1962)

British Poetry:

• The Soldier, Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)
• “Futility” by Wilfred Owens (1893-1918)
• Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
• Sweeney Among the Nightingales, T. S. Eliot (1888-1965)
• Musee des Beaux Arts, W. H. Auden (1907-1973)