Ignatius Gallaher In the short story “A Little Cloud” by James Joyce, Ignatius Gallaher is a young man who has returned to Dublin from London. He decides to meet his friend Tommy Chandler in a rather stylish pub, Corless. Tommy Chandler has a great admiration for his friend and believes he is a successful journalist for the London Press. However, there is little evidence of Gallaher’s success. In his conversation with Chandler, Gallaher is seen as a boastful, arrogant, and condescending man and one who is gaudy and vulgar. On his way to the pub, Chandler reminisces about Gallaher’s youth. He drinks a lot freely and borrows money from all sides. Gallaher is wild in his younger days, mixing in with a rakish set of fellows and he gets into some shady affairs. However in spite of all the negative behaviour, there is something about Ignatius Gallaher that impresses everyone. He has self-control and keeps his confidence when he is in desperate measures: “That was Ignatius Gallaher all out; and, damn it, you couldn’t but admire him for it” (2). Gallaher is admired in his youth as well. He does what he wants to do, he lived life. He goes around and sees the world while Tommy Chandler stays in his hometown hardworking and envying his friend. In Ignatius Gallaher’s youth, he is full of bravado. On meeting Gallaher in the pub, Chandler is surprised by his unhealthy appearance. Despite Gallaher’s heavy, pale, and bluish state-colour eyes, he continues to drink freely. Although Gallaher becomes boastful about travelling from place to place, he believes that his job is very tiresome. He rushes from coffee to paperwork and all over again, which in his sense puts him at the top of all his co-workers: “Press Life. Always hurry and scurry, looking for copy and sometimes not finding it: and then, always to have something new in your stuff. Damn proofs and printers” (3). Ignatius Gallaher dislikes his job because of all the work involved, he likes to live life and be successful without having
