Just as a harmonious meal signals interpersonal connection and community, so does a difficult meal spell disaster. Sometimes, a single meal can contain many complex and even contradictory layers of meaning. In James Joyce's short story "The Dead" (1914), the main character, Gabriel Conroy, attends a lavish dinner party during which a series of tense and difficult moments make him realize that he is not superior to other people. Joyce provides a detailed, sensual description of the dishes, and in doing so creates the impression that the reader themselves is attending the dinner party. This in turn implicates the reader in the story's message: that people are made equal by the fact that they will all eventually die.