Ivy Day in the Committee Room

Old Jack is the elderly caretaker of the political Committee Room where the story takes place. An Irish Nationalist, he is a patriot with seemingly strong political convictions, but he struggles to act on those convictions. As such, he represents the older generation of Irish Nationalists who have failed to act on the commitments and values of their party, leaving the movement mired in corruption and petty disagreement. Symbolically, Joyce represents this state of affairs by making Jack the guardian of the Committee Room’s weak fire, which (although Jack unsuccessfully stokes and fans it throughout the story) never properly lights or heats the room. As the fire represents the spirit of Irish Nationalism, Jack’s ineffectual stoking suggests that the older generation has betrayed the movement, letting its light nearly go out. Jack also embodies the factionalism and distrust that characterizes the party (he is skeptical of Joe Hynes’s party allegiance, for instance), and he demonstrates the party’s hypocrisy. For example, although Jack is bitterly disappointed in his 19-year-old son who has a drinking problem, he follows the other men’s orders and—against his principles—allows a teenaged delivery boy to drink a bottle of stout. This shows Jack’s inability to act on his convictions, and it also casts blame on his generation for corrupting the young, showing that it is partially their fault that Irish Nationalism is in decline.