Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories that were written by James Joyce between 1904-1907 and finally published in full in 1914. The stories each feature inhabitants of pre-independence Dublin, Ireland at the turn of the 19th and 20thcenturies. The characters mostly come from middle class backgrounds but are often struggling in some way. The first story “The Sisters” features a young boy as the narrator, with the main characters of the stories becoming progressively older as the collection progresses.
The stories all take place independent of one another and can be read in isolation, although most deal with various feelings of stagnation and paralysis in a city which has been oppressed by British colonization for hundreds of years. They also usually end either while or just after a character has some sort of “epiphany” or unexpected moment of clarity, usually regarding a central theme of the story.
Here, you can find a number of online tasks to both prepare for the "highest level" English exam and better understand the different short stories of Dubliners as well as the stories' themes.
"Clay"
"A Painful Case"
"Ivy Day in the Committee Room"
"A Mother"
"Grace"
"The Dead"
You can find the full text of Dubliners here for free at Project Gutenberg.