In his book of short stories, "Dubliners," James Joyce presents the message that Dublin, Ireland, is a city paralyzed. A major agent of the paralysis is Catholicism and thus, religion. Religion bogs down Dubliners, keeping them from advancement and allowing the continuation of a paralyzing routine. Joyce enlightens the reader of these problems through the use of the Catholic virtues. Dublin's observance of Faith, Hope and Fortitude, and the non-observance of Temperance and Justice are symbolized by the characters and their actions in Dubliners. Joyce uses these virtues as a tool to demonstrate that religion, through the virtues, is a major paralyzing agent in Dublin's society at the time. Faith, Hope and Fortitude are perverted in that their observance leads to a lack of advancement when, according to Catholicism, they should advance one's own life. This suggests that while Dubliners are observing their religious ideals, they are let down by them at some point. Joyce juxtaposes the non-observance of Temperance and Justice with a city that is overly religious and the non-observance of these virtues prevent advancement in Dublin's society. Joyce uses the virtues in "The Encounter," "Araby," "Eveline," "Two Gallants," "Ivy Day in the Committee Room," and "A Mother," to show that religion, through the symbolism of the characters, are paralyzing Dublin. In "An Encounter," Joyce invokes the use of the virtues faith and hope. The young boys symbolize hope through their actions and Fr Butler symbolizes faith. In the beginning of the story, the young boys read tales of the wild West,  that "opened doors of escape"  (Joyce 8). The use of "doors of escape" implies that the boys are trapped in something that they want to get out of, and the stories of the "Wild West  allow for this escape to occur. From this, it is clear that these boys hope to get out of the muck and mire of their everyday lives and escape to somewhere new and exotic. However, the boys are not allowed this escape by Fr Butler, who symbolizes faith and believes that all this is "rubbish" (Joyce 9). In this case, faith is inhibiting the ability of the boys to escape and advance their lives. The boys are clearly looking for adventure, a change to their lives and daily routine. In an attempt to "break out of the wariness of school-life" (Joyce 9) the boys chose to skip school and look for an adventure. The boys symbolize hope through these actions. The boys hope for change and excitement, adventure and escape. As the boys prepare for their day, Leo Dillon remarks that he is afraid that they might see Fr Butler or someone else from the college. This action on the part of Leo is a symbol for the fact that their faith is preventing them from experiencing adventure and escape. However, this remark is countered by Mahony, saying that there is no reason that Fr Butler or anyone from the college would be where they would be while skipping school. Leo agrees to this and thus, agrees to meet with them as scheduled. The other boys, have faith that the others will arrive on time and with their sixpence. However, when Leo does not show up, their faith had let them down. This speaks to great lengths in how Joyce portrays Dublin at the time, as a place where the Catholic faith had let the people down. Their faith has bogged them down and the "weariness of school-life represents the weariness of life in general for Dublin at large. The boys, representing Dublin, hope for advancement and a change to their lives, but their observance of faith does not allow this and instead keeps them in a paralyzing, daily rou