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“He was often to be seen walking with policemen in plain clothes, talking earnestly. He knew the inner side of all affairs and was fond of delivering final judgments.”
Here, the narrator explains that Corley is a police informant and it is implied that he is compensated for doing so. This moment both displays Corley’s shady character and contributes to the text’s thematic emphasis on betrayal. It is even more revealing when paired with the information that Corley is the son of a police inspector. Through this brief line, Joyce implies that Corley could have followed in his father’s footsteps and pursued a real career but, instead, chose to take the easy way out.
“He spoke without listening to the speech of his companions. His conversation was mainly about himself: what he had said to such a person and what such a person had said to him and what he had said to settle the matter.”
This quote is a small part of a larger passage that is dedicated to an overview of Corley’s personality. Here, Joyce characterizes Corley as a selfish and overbearing man who can only think about himself and who does not seem to care about the other people in his life. This section shows how Corley and Lenehan complement one another because Corley is assertive where Lenehan is passive, and dominating where Lenehan is submissive. It is easy to see why Lenehan would attach himself to such a man.
