“Two Gallants” is a short story that belongs to the category of Modernism. Modernist literature emerged in the 20th century as a mode of writing that disrupted and questioned previous norms of literature, creating new literary conventions in the process. This was a result of Modernist writers’ disillusionment with industrialized, modern society—they did not want to write simple, romantic stories because such narratives did not match the alienation they felt in themselves and saw in society (especially among oppressed and exploited people).
This sort of alienation is obvious in the two characters at the center of “Two Gallants,” Corley and Lenehan. Both men are deeply dissatisfied with their lives—they struggle with money, cannot find reliable work, manipulate women (while complaining about not being able to find “good” women), and wander the streets of Dublin aimlessly because they have nowhere else to go. With these two characters, Joyce is pointing to broader patterns faced by youth in Ireland in the early 20th century—as Ireland’s economy declined in the face of British rule, the psychological and moral character of Ireland’s people also declined. His decision to center this story on two unlikable characters is intentional—he wants to show what the young men of Ireland have become in the face of unjust sociopolitical forces.
