James Joyce's Grace

Reading Grace kind of reminded me of a detective story. There was different points of view, long run-on sentences, and interesting description that kept the reader wanting more. The run-on sentences were particularly what stood out to me while reading this. The descriptions of each character are lengthy and the reader sees over and over again through each character how detailed Joyce's descriptions are. The tone is ironic but at the same time the descriptions make the reader intrigued by the characters.

"The transept of the Jesuit Church in Gardiner Street was almost full; and still at every moment gentlemen entered from the side door and, directed by the lay brother, walked on tiptoe along the aisles until they found seating accommodation. The gentleman were all well dressed and orderly. The light of the lamps of the church fell upon an assembly of black clothes and white collars, relieved here and there by tweeds, on dark mottled pillars of green marble and on lugubrious canvases. The gentleman sat in the benches, having hitched their trousers slightly above their knees and laid their hats in security. They sat well back and and gazed formally at the distant speck of red light which was suspended before the high altar."

This passage describes in lengthy detail the men sitting down in Church. Joyce describes the clothing in a very interesting way. It is not straight to the point but rather the description is a bit hidden: The gentleman were all well dressed and orderly. The light of the lamps of the church fell upon an assembly of black clothes and white collars, relieved here and there by tweeds, on dark mottled pillars of green marble and on lugubrious canvases.

Joyce describes how "the light of the lamp" brings out the appearance of the men, which I found to be very interesting.

The word "gentleman" is also repeated often throughout the passage.