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One by one they were all becoming shades.
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“One by one they were all becoming shades.”

James Joyce

Source
Dubliners — The Dead
Date
1914
Meaning

Meaning of “One by one they were all becoming shades.”

Gabriel’s thoughts widen from one dead young man to the mortality of everyone around him, preparing the story’s final meditation on memory and the living and dead.

Source context

Where does it come from?

“The Dead,” in Dubliners, Project Gutenberg #2814. The line belongs to Gabriel Conroy’s interior reflection after Gretta tells him about Michael Furey; it is fictional free-indirect narration.

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Themes

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DeepGriefLifeSadShortThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite ReflectionTimeDeath
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Source details

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Source details

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Source details

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“The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live.”

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Voice: Dialogue speaker · Socrates
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Source details

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The line emphasizes impermanence and the dreamlike brevity of human life.

Source details

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Procrastination is the thief of time;
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Meaning & context

Young personifies procrastination as something that steadily steals finite time while people postpone decisions and assume future opportunities will remain available.

Source details

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