The Dead's Effect From Beyond the Grave It is known that many times people have their greatest effect on the living after they have passed away. In the story The Dead, by James Joyce, it is clearly seen that Michael Furey, the ex-boyfriend of Gretta, has his greatest effect on Gretta from beyond the grave. Death shows man's greatest flaw and when people have a close brush with it, they are forced to come to the reality that they, too, will someday die. The realization that death is approaching yields decisions of change to make life more en ....