On the surface, James Joyce's Dubliners is a collection of unrelated stories and characters intertwined only by the common element of the city of Dublin in the early 20th century. Upon closer inspection, however, it is clear that each story and each character are connected by the many common themes that appear in each story. The theme I will discuss in relation to my essay is that of gender in the stories “A Little Cloud” and “Counterparts” from Joyce's Dubliners. In both stories both men struggle with their own identity, both wish to change the people they have become and escape from the paralysis they are experiencing. The main characters of the stories "A Little Cloud" and "Counterparts" apparently have nothing in common; Little Chandler is a quiet, artistic man who rarely drinks or strays from his usual routine, while Farrington is an impoverished alcoholic on the brink of complete disaster. Yet each man equally experiences painful feelings of paralysis and the need to escape. Yet both characters are unable to take decisive action to improve their lives, leading to astonishing epiphanies similar to the end of each story. After a night of drinking and introspection, in "A Little Cloud" and "Counterparts" both Little Chandler and Farrington return home. and vent their anger on their children, symbolically expressing frustration with themselves and their tragic lives of boredom and missed opportunities. "Little Chandler" earns his nickname not because of his physical size, but because he "gave the impression of being a Man." Joyce paints a picture of a shy, studious man, uncomfortable and timid in social situations: "His hands are white and small, his frame frail and his manners refined." In contrast, Farrington is "tall and large-built" with "a drooping, dark, wine-colored face." Little Chandler has no interest in social life and prefers to spend his time reading poetry in his picturesque house, while Farrington appears to be a raging alcoholic who obviously spends every free moment in a pub. While Little Chandler is too shy to even read his favorite poems to his wife or meet new people, Farrington expresses his anger at his boss who got him fired, and heads to the nearest bar to drink and brag about it to his friends..