Because Joyce comes from the Catholic community and Yeats from the Protestant community, an agelong ruling class in Ireland, the two Irish writers are quite different in their literary world. Defining Irish identity and emphasizing physical struggle against the British, Yeats overtly expresses nationalistic views in his writings. On the other hand Joyce`s way of doing this is more indirect. That is, Joyce in his writings subverts Yeats`s conception of Ireland and Irish people and points out more appropriate ways of gaining liberation. Yeats claims that Irish people represent spiritualism while English people represent materialism. Joyce attacks this binary division by evincing that the national characteristics were made by the English to justify Irish failure in politics and make Irish people take their colonial status for granted. Joyce deconstructs the binarism by showing that Irish people asserting the national characteristics are absorbed in seeking material interests. Also, Joyce rejects heroic death and the myth of martyrdom which are well described in Yeats`s poems and plays. To Joyce physical struggle against the British only proves the British conception of Irish people, a violent people. Instead of death and martyrdom Joyce praises this world and the pleasure of being alive. Joyce`s consistent subversion of Yeats derives from his dilemma in Ireland where Anglo-Irish writers dominate the Irish literary world, leading Irish people spiritually. Joyce attacks Yeats who pretends to be the representative of Irish nationalist writers. Through his writing, Joyce, therefore, tries to recover the privilege of being called the Irish national bard.