Synopsis This Collection of Short Stories was written by Joyce at the early age of twenty five. The frustrations of childhood, disappointments of adolescence and mystery of sexual awakening are related in the opening stories with clarity and sensitivity. In the most story, “The Dead', Joyce presents a Christmas gathering of friends and neighbours, but there is an underlying tension and sense of despair involved in the plot, which adds a disturbing element to the superficial social scene. This collection of stories created a startling new form of writing, which is as impressive today as when it first appeared.