A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF RELIGIOUS IRONY AND THE ILLUSION OF REDEMPTION IN JAMES JOYCE’S GRACE

Abstract

The research paper at hand conducts a stylistic analysis of James Joyce’s short story, Grace, to explore religious hypocrisy and the myth of spiritual redemption within early 20th-century Irish Catholicism. Since earlier research has only focused on the theological or cultural themes in Grace, this paper fills a significant gap by rigorously examining the story's linguistic and narrative devices using the stylistic model proposed by Leech and Short (2007). Following the stylistic model, the study analyzes the text at four levels; lexis, grammar, figures of speech, and discourse. Evidence from the story reveals that Joyce's usage of formal religious vocabulary set against colloquial and euphemistic talk, his syntactic preference for passivity and parataxis, and his subtle narrative voice, all combine to expose the illusion of redemption. The story's irony lies in the way the language is constructed, emphasizing the performative, socially motivated nature of religious observance through symbolic imagery and flat narration. According to this stylistic interpretation, Grace is not only a thematic critique of Catholicism but also a prime example of how language both reinforces and subverts moral and ideological truths. The research concludes that Joyce's stylistic skill enables him to draw a satirical portrayal of Dublin society, thereby giving a critical perspective on the way language reveals and hides the truth of man.