The dead is a seemingly easy story to understand on the surface. Its about a party and everyone's relationship within the party and to each other. THe story, however, goes much deeper that that, and as Gabriel finds out when he hears his wives story about her old suitor Michael, nothing is what it seems on the surface, everyone has deeper thoughts and motives. If you're looking for more material there is an excellent review here on enotes. http://www.enotes.com/dead/11374