Counterparts

by

James Joyce

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Counterparts Symbols

Alcohol

In this story, alcohol is symbolic of Farrington’s desperate need to escape reality, along with the idea that escapism is often more harmful than helpful. Returning to his desk after being told off by…

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Arm-Wrestling

In “Counterparts,” Farrington loses an arm-wrestling match—twice—to an Englishman named Weathers, a contest that has several layers of symbolic significance. On the surface, the arm-wrestling match symbolizes a sort of measure or test of…

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