On the Mental Paralysis Theme in “A Little Cloud” from the Perspective of the Literary Stylistics

The theme of mental paralysis is one of the central and significant themes in James Joyce’s renowned collection of short stories Dubliners. It vividly portrays the life condition of Dubliners as being plagued by a lack of faith and trapped in a state of spiritual paralysis. Among these stories, “A Little Cloud” is the first story in Dubliners that portrays the adult stage of the mental paralysis. After closely reading this story, it becomes evident that Joyce strategically employs specific language choices that hold immense significance in effectively conveying the theme of mental paralysis. Therefore, this thesis aims to employ the theoretical framework of literary stylistics to analyze the linguistic deviations employed by Joyce in this story, trying to explore how Joyce expresses the theme of mental paralysis in his story.