"The Little Cloud" Conflict.

The protagonist, Little Chandler, of James Joyce's short story "The Little Cloud" is a weak, timid man. Chandler is unable to express his feeling through either reading or writing poems and his mind is always thinking of "his friend's success". These factors lead to an internal conflict he experiences within himself. The internal conflict of Little Chandler is revealed in the narrator's comments, Chandler's comparison with his friend, what he thought of his life, and even his marriage.

At the beginning of the story, the narrator describes him as a little melancholy man who always feels depressed when he realizes his life is stuck in a pattern. However, he can't and won't change it because he is accustomed to it; for example, he ordered the same drinks again and again. He is always living under fear; the fear that is he will never do as well as his friend, Gallaher.

James Joyce statue next to O'Connell street in Dub...

Gallaher's Blue de Luxe cigarettes - packet Bac...

Image taken from page 9 of 'The Dawn of Day. By th...

The sentences, "You could do nothing in Dublin" and "he would never be popular: he saw that" were engraved in his mind. His thoughts become excuse for his lack of motivation. He is always afraid and so he doesn't want to take risk to change his life.

The other obvious part is when he meets Gallaher in the bar. The narrator uses Gallaher as a foil, because he is totally different from Little Chandler. Gallaher is described as a brilliant and famous journalist, who has traveled a lot. Gallaher boasted many things excited and wonderful which Little Chandler is jealous about. The way Gallaher enjoyed his life is a contrast for him who is a "pious chap". He asserts about his manhood of marriage because this is the only thing Gallaher didn't get. However, Gallaher response "see if I played my card properly" easily disappointed him. Through out...