ulysses james yoyce

8/13/2019 Ulysses James Yoyce

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Ulysses By James JoyceUlysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce . It was first serialised in parts in the American

journal The Little Review from March 1918 to ecember 19!"# and then published in its entirety

by $ylvia Beach on ! %ebruary 19!!# in &aris. 'ne of the most important wor(s of Modernistliterature #it has been called )a demonstration and summation of the entire movement).)Before

Joyce# no writer of fiction had so fore*rounded the process of thin(in*.)

Ulysses chronicles the passa*e of +eopold Bloom throu*h ublin durin* an ordinary day# 1, June

19"- the day of Joyce/s first date with his future wife# 0ora Barnacle .2-3 4he title alludes

to 'dysseus +atinised into Ulysses # the hero of 5omer /s Odyssey # and establishes a series of

parallels between characters and events in 5omer/s poem and Joyce/s novel e.g. # the

correspondence of +eopold Bloom to 'dysseus# Molly Bloom to &enelope # and $tephen

edalus to 4elemachus . Joyce fans worldwide now celebrate 1, June as Bloomsday .

Ulysses is appro6imately !,7#""" words in len*th# uses a le6icon of "#" " words includin*

proper names# plurals and various verb tenses # 273 and is divided into ei*hteen episodes. $ince

publication# the boo( attracted controversy and scrutiny# ran*in* from early obscenity trials to

protracted te6tual )Joyce ars.) Ulysses' stream:of:consciousness techni;ue# careful structurin*#

and e6perimental prose


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4hirteen is told from the third and first person. =pisode %ourteen is told variously in the third:person and first:person. =pisode %ifteen is in play:script form. =pisode =i*hteen features an interior monolo*ue.TONE > 4he narratives of =pisodes 'ne throu*h =i*ht have a strai*htforward tone. =pisodes 0ine throu*h=leven have a self:conscious# playful tone. =pisode 4welve has a hyperbolic# belli*erent tone. =pisode4hirteen has a sentimental tone. =pisode %ourteen has an e6treme variety of tones# includin* pious#

sensational# and satiric. =pisode %ifteen has no narrator and therefore no dominant narrative tone. =pisode$i6teen has a tired tone. =pisode $eventeen has a scientific tone.TENSE > &resentSETTING (TIME > 8G"" A.M. # June 1, #19"- appro6imately A.M.# June 1H#19"-SETTING (PLACE > ublin# Ireland# and its surroundin* suburbsPROTAGONIST > $tephen edalus# +eopold Bloom# Molly BloomMA!OR CONFLICT > Molly BloomEs infidelity with Bla es Boylan? $tephen edalusEs search for a symbolicfather? +eopold BloomEs desire for a son his only son died eleven years a*o several days after his birthRISING ACTION > Bloom leaves his house for the day# sees Bla es Boylan on the street several times# andbecomes an6ious about Bla es and MollyEs four oEcloc( rende vous. Bloom is convinced they are *oin* tohave se6. $tephen and Bloom *o about their day. 4hey pass by each other several times and coincidentallymeet at 5olles $t. Maternity 5ospital.CLIMA" > 4he first clima6 could be when Bloom loo(s after $tephen durin* $tephenEs ar*ument with &rivateDarr at the end of =pisode %ifteen . 4he second clima6 is BloomEs return home to his bedroom to discoverevidence of MollyEs infidelity and to mentally overcome the threat of Bla es Boylan =pisode $eventeen .FALLING ACTION > Bloom and $tephen rest at a cabmanEs shelter =pisode $i6teen # then return to theBloom residence and have cocoa and tal( =pisode $eventeen . Bloom tells Molly about his day and as(sher to serve him brea(fast in bed =pisode $eventeen . Molly lies awa(e considerin* the events of the dayand a happy memory from her and BloomEs past.THEMES > 4he ;uest for paternity? the remorse of conscience? compassion as heroic? paralla6 or thenecessity of multiple perspectivesMOTIFS > +i*htness and dar(ness? the home usurped? the =astSYMBOLS > &lumtreeEs &otted Meat? the Fold Dup horserace? $tephenEs +atin uarter hat? BloomEs potato

talismanFORESHADOWING > $tephenEs and BloomEs compatible dreams set in an =astern mar(etplace street

Joyce be*an writin* Ulysses in 191- # and when orld ar I bro(e out he moved his family to @urich#$wit erland# where he continued wor( on the novel. In @urich# JoyceEs fortunes finally improved as his talentattracted several wealthy patrons# includin* 5arriet $haw eaver. Portrait was published in boo( formin 191, # and JoyceEs play# Exiles, in 1918 . Also in 1918 # the first episodes of Ulysses were published inserial form in The Little Review. In 1919 # the Joyces moved to &aris# where Ulysses was published in boo(form in 19!! . In 19! # with his eyesi*ht ;uic(ly diminishin*# Joyce be*an wor(in* on whatbecame Finnegans Wake, published in 19 9 . Joyce died in 19-1 .Joyce first conceived of Ulysses as a short story to be included in D !liners, but decided instead to publish it

as a lon* novel# situated as a sort of se;uel to " Portrait o# the "rtist as a $o ng %an. Ulysses pic(s up$tephen edalusEs life more than a year after where Portrait leaves off. 4he novel introduces two new maincharacters# +eopold and Molly Bloom# and ta(es place on a sin*le day# June 1, #19"- # in ublin.Ulysses strives to achieve a (ind of realism unli(e that of any novel before it by renderin* the thou*hts andactions of its main characters< both trivial and si*nificant


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novel# it also wor(s on a mythic level# by way of a series of parallels with 5omerEs Odyssey. $tephen#Bloom# and Molly correspond respectively to 4elemachus# lysses# and &enelope# and each of the ei*hteenepisodes of the novel corresponds to an adventure from the Odyssey.Ulysses has become particularly famous for JoyceEs stylistic innovations. In Portrait, Joyce first attempted thetechni;ue of interior monolo*ue# or stream:of:consciousness. 5e also e6perimented with shiftin* style


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with his own ability to envision an inclusive state# ma(e him a fi*ure who both suffers from and e6poses theinsularity of Ireland and Irishness in 19"- . Pet the social e6clusion of Bloom is not simply one:sided. Bloomis clear:si*hted and mostly unsentimental when it comes to his male peers. 5e does not li(e to drin( often orto *ossip# and thou*h he is always friendly# he is not sorry to be e6cluded from their circles.

hen Bloom first appears in =pisode %our of Ulysses, his character is noteworthy for its differences from

$tephenEs character# on which the first three episodes focus. $tephenEs cerebrality ma(es BloomEs comfortwith the physical world seem more remar(able. 4his ease accords with his practical mind and scientificcuriosity. hereas $tephen# in =pisode 4hree# shuts himself off from the mat:erial world to ponder thewor(in*s of his own perception# Bloom appears in the be*innin* of =pisode %our bendin* down to his cat#wonderin* how her senses wor(. BloomEs comfort with the physical also manifests itself in his se6uality# adimension mostly absent from $tephenEs character. e *et ample evidence of BloomEs se6uality


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reevaluate the understandin* we have thus far formed of +eopold Bloom. If we focus on the Lvul*arityN andphysicality of her monolo*ue# our built:up sympathies with Bloom as the well:meanin* husband of a loosewoman are ratified. But a more nuanced understandin* of her involves seein* her as an out*oin* womanwho ta(es a certain pride in her husband# but who has been feelin* a lac( of demonstrative love. 4his ideayields a reevaluation of Bloom as bein* unfaithful in his own ways and complicit in the temporary brea(down

of their marria*e.+i(e Bloom# Molly is a ublin outsider. $he was raised in the military atmosphere of Fibraltar by her father#Major Brian 4weedy. Molly never (new her mother# who was possibly Jewish# or just Jewish:lo:o(in*. Bloomassociates Molly with the Lhot:bloodedN Mediterranean re*ions# and# to a lesser de*ree# the e6oticism of the=ast. Pet Molly considers her own childhood to have been normal# outside the dramatic entrances and e6itsof youn*# *ood:loo(in* soldiers *oin* off to war. Molly seems to or*ani e her life around men and to havevery few female friends. $he enjoys bein* loo(ed at and *ains self:esteem from the admiration of men.Molly is e6tremely self:aware and perceptive


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$tephenEs stru**les tend to center around his parents. 5is mother# who seems to blame $tephen forrefusin* to pray at her deathbed# represents not only a motherEs love but also the church and Ireland.$tephen is haunted by his motherEs memory and *host in the same ways that he is haunted by memories ofhis early piety. 4hou*h $tephenEs father is still alive and well# we see $tephen attemptin* to i*nore or denyhim throu*hout all of Ulysses. $tephenEs stru**le with his father seems to be about $tephenEs need to have a

space in which to create


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paternity. 4hese ;uests seem to end in BloomEs (itchen# with Bloom reco*ni in* Lthe futureN in $tephen and$tephen reco*ni in* Lthe pastN in Bloom. 4hou*h united as father and son in this moment# the men will soonpart ways# and their paternity ;uests will undoubtedly continue# for Ulysses demonstrates that the ;uest forpaternity is a search for a lastin* manifestation of self.The Remorse of Conscience

4he phrase agen!ite o# inwit, a reli*ious term meanin* Lremorse of conscience#N comes to $tephenEs minda*ain and a*ain in Ulysses. $tephen associates the phrase with his *uilt over his motherEs death


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4he traditional associations of li*ht with *ood and dar( with bad are upended in Ulysses, in which the twoprota*onists are dressed in mournin* blac(# and the more menacin* characters are associated with li*htand bri*htness. 4his reversal arises in part as a reaction to Mr. easyEs anti:$emitic jud*ment that Jewshave Lsinned a*ainst the li*ht.N easy himself is associated with the bri*htness of coins# representin* wealthwithout spirituality. LBla esN Boylan# BloomEs nemesis# is associated with bri*htness throu*h his name and

his flashy behavior# a*ain su**estin* surface without substance. BloomEs and $tephenEs dar( colors su**esta variety of associationsG Jewishness# anarchy# outsiderQwanderer status. %urthermore# 4hrowaway# theLdar( horse#N wins the Fold Dup 5orserace.The Home Usurped

hile 'dysseus is away from Ithaca in The Odyssey, his household is usurped by would:be suitors of hiswife# &enelope. 4his motif translates directly to Ulysses and provides a connection between $tephen andBloom. $tephen pays the rent for the Martello tower# where he# Buc(# and 5aines are stayin*. Buc(Esdemand of the house (ey is thus a usurpation of $tephenEs household ri*hts# and $tephen reco*ni es thisand refuses to return to the tower. $tephen mentally dramati es this usurpation as a replay of DlaudiusEsusurpation of Fertrude and the throne in )a let. Meanwhile# BloomEs home has been usurped by Bla esBoylan# who comes and *oes at will and has se6 with Molly in BloomEs absence. $tephenEs and BloomEs lac(

of house (eys throu*hout Ulysses symboli es these usurpations.The #ast

4he motif of the =ast appears mainly in BloomEs thou*hts. %or Bloom# the =ast is a place of e6oticism#representin* the promise of a paradisiacal e6istence. BloomEs ha y conception of this faraway land arisesfrom a networ( of connectionsG the planterEs companies such as A*endeth 0etaim # which su**est newlyfertile and potentially profitable homes? @ionist movements for a homeland? Molly and her childhood inFibraltar? narcotics? and erotics. %or Bloom and the reader# the =ast becomes the ima*inative space wherehopes can be reali ed. 4he only place where Molly# $tephen# and Bloom all meet is in their parallel dreamsof each other the ni*ht before# dreams that seem to be set in an =astern locale.

Sy,0%ls

-y !ols are o! e*ts, *hara*ters, #ig res, or *olors sed to re(resent a!stra*t ideas or *on*e(ts.Plumtree$s Potted Meat

In =pisode %ive# Bloom reads an ad in his newspaperG L hat is home without Q &lumtreeEs &otted MeatR QIncomplete. Q ith it an abode of bliss.N BloomEs conscious reaction is his belief that the ad is poorly placed


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have bet. 4his underdo* victory represents BloomEs eventual unshowy triumph over Boylan# to win the LFoldDupN of MollyEs heart.&tephen$s Latin Quarter Hat

$tephen deliberately conceives of his +atin uarter hat as a symbol. 4he +atin uarter is a student district in&aris# and $tephen hopes to su**est his e6iled# anti:establishment status while bac( in Ireland. 5e alsorefers to the hat as his L5amlet hat#N tippin* us off to the intentional broodin* and artistic connotations of thehead *ear. Pet $tephen cannot always control his own hat as a symbol# especially in the eyes of others.4hrou*h the eyes of others# it comes to si*nify $tephenEs moc( priest:liness and provinciality.

'loom$s Potato Talisman

In =pisode %ifteen# BloomEs potato functions li(e 'dysseusEs use of LmolyN in DirceEs den


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In#idents in the no(el ha(e #ounter"arts in the *omeri# e"i#, sometimes to abroadly ar#i#al e e#t, other times to a more "unning or humorous e e#t, andstill others to it Joy#e2s own sense o so#ial or "oliti#al irony. or instan#e,

ha"ter ;ne in Ulysses, r e erred to as )##les $treet inthe northwest uadrant o Dublin. *e is "re"aring brea% ast or himsel and hiswi e and his #at/ be ore de"arting or addy Dignam2s uneral. The !inglings"rings o the bed u"stairs show that his wi e 'olly is awa%e. *e goes out intothe world li%e ;dysseus in The Odyssey. &loom2s wanderings be#ome the ma!or"art o the no(el.

In ha"ter i(e, &loom wal%s through the streets o Dublin and "er orms se(eralerrands. In ha"ter $i-, &loom and his ellow mourners tra(el to the #emeteryor the burial o addy Dignam, whi#h e(o%es rom &loom a wealth o

meditations on birth, death, and human railty, in#luding his reminis#en#es on?udy, his own dead son, and his ather, a sui#ide. This theme and anti+$emitism,ta#tlessly arise in (arious #on(ersations, with &loom the target.


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In ha"ter $e(en, $te"hen and &loom ather and son, or ;dysseus andTelema#hus/ meet in the news"a"er o i#e or the irst time in the no(el,although ea#h %nows who the other is. &loom attem"ts unsu##ess ully/ to#om"lete an ad(ertising #ontra#t, and $te"hen su##ess ully/ hands o(er theletter s#hoolmaster Deasy entrusted him with. 3ote the shi t in narrati(e asnews"a"er headlines a""ear to interru"t straight orward narrati(e.

In ha"ter )ight, &loom gets hungry and de#ides to lun#h at Da(ey &yrnes2s"ub. The dominant moti s are related to ood and eating. &loom #ontinues towander, thin%ing about birth and amily li e, 'olly, her "re(ious lo(ers, and hisown "ast. *e is handed a religious "am"hlet, sees $te"hen2s sister Dilly in thestreet, eeds some seagulls with #a%es he has "ur#hased, then starts noti#ingand thin%ing about ad(ertising. &loom meets 'rs. &reen, sort o an old lame,and sym"athi es with her be#ause o her


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been tuned by the blind stri"ling. &loom is elsewhere, buying "a"er. &oylanenters. &loom s"ots his #ar outside and also enters with a riend, ?it#hieAoulding. &oylan lea(es, on his way to meet 'olly. $imon sings, and &loomthin%s o 'olly.

In ha"ter Twel(e, it is nearly E:00 and the lo#ale shi ts to &arney 5iernan2s"ub, where &loom is going to meet 'artin unningham and dis#uss the a airs othe Dignam amily. The unnamed narrator a debt #olle#tor/ #hats with Joe*ynes, and they meet the iti en, a ier#e nationalist with a dog #alledAarryowen, who does not ta%e %indly to &loom. $e(eral #hara#ters enter the"ub, in#luding &loom, behind whose ba#% the iti en starts throwing insults.

ha"ter Thirteen ta%es "la#e at 8:00 ".m. issy a rey, her twin brothers, andher riends )dy &oardman and Aerty 'a#Dowell who sits a little a"art/, are onthe $andymount $trand. Aerty is im"atient with the boys and their noise andmess, as well as her riends, who are a little #ommon, and she daydreams atlength about hersel , her romanti# as"irations, and her s"iritual stri(ings. Thetwins %i#% their ball to &loom, who is also on the bea#h, and Aerty wea(es himinto her thoughts she noti#es that he is in mourning and #onstru#ts a tragi# butromanti# tale around him/. issy #o#%ily goes to as% &loom the time, but hiswat#h has sto""ed. @ irewor%s dis"lay begins. *er riends run along the bea#h,but Aerty stays near &loom and leans ba#% to wat#h the irewor%s she %nowsthat men #an be e-#ited by immodest women, and she is allowing &loom to seeu" her s%irt/. hen she lea(es, &loom noti#es that she has a lim", and we learnthat he has masturbated.

In ha"ter ourteen, at 10:00, &loom enters The 3ational 'aternity *os"ital to#he#% on the #ondition o 'ina ure oy, who went into labor in ha"ter )ight. Torein or#e the theme o #hildbearing, Joy#e deli(ers a running analogy betweenthe de(elo"ment o the )nglish language and the gestation o an in ant. hile atthe hos"ital, &loom sees $te"hen #arousing with other young men and worriesthat doing so will s"ill and waste the seed o his talent.

In ha"ter i teen, it is midnight at &ella ohen2s brothel on Tyrone $treet. This#ha"ter is a series o antasti# e(ents, "artially the result o drun%enness on$te(en2s "art, "artially due to hallu#inations indu#ed by guilt and remorse on&loom2s "art. $te"hen and yn#h stagger in drun% and are mo#%ed by thehangers+on and "atrons o the "la#e. &loom ollows, e(ents and #hara#ters

Aerty, 'olly, his ather, and his mother/ stimulating his mind and sense o guiltin a hallu#inatory ashion. &loom is arrested or #ommitting an unnamednuisan#e and undergoes a "rotra#ted trial in whi#h he ne(er %nows or #ertainwhat the #harges are. *is identity #onstantly #hanges as #hara#ters rom his "ast


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and "ersoni i#ations o "er(erse desires enter the #ourt. &loom s"ea%s with oneo the whores, Foe *iggins, who %nows where $te"hen is. hen &loom indshim, $te"hen, in his drun%enness, is attem"ting to settle his bill. &loom ensuresthat he isn2t #heated. The ghost o $te"hen2s mother a""ears, $te"hen brea%sthe #handelier, and they end u" on the street. @ ight with some )nglish "ri(ates

he has allegedly insulted the 5ing/ lea(es $te"hen "rostrate on the "a(ement.The "oli#e a""ear, but orny 5elleher and &loom smooth things o(er. &loomga es at the un#ons#ious $te"hen and e-"erien#es a (ision o his dead son,?udy.

The remaining three #ha"ters, may be seen as lysses2 home#oming to Itha#a.These segments #o(er the ollowing e(ents rom The Odyssey: the hero2s return,his slaying o the trea#herous suitors o his aith ul wi e enelo"e, and his !oy ulreunion with her.

In ha"ter $i-teen, it is 1:00 at a #abman2s shelter. &loom and $te"hen drin%#o ee. @ number o minor #hara#ters a""ear, and $te"hen and &loom intera#twith them. &loom shows $te"hen a "hotogra"h o 'olly, the im"li#ation beingthat $te"hen2s talents might be used to urther 'olly2s #areer and thus oust&oylan rom her a e#tions/. They lea(e and dis#uss musi# as they wal%.

In ha"ter $e(enteen, it is G:00 in the morning at the &loom2s home at > )##les$treet. The narrati(e style is in the dry, uestion+and+answer style o the#ate#hism. $te"hen and &loom are brought together or the last time here.$te"hen see%s a ather, &loom see%s a son. @t the same time, ea#h o them isindi(idual, yet harmoniously !oined. In the te-t, they are united by a word "lay,be#oming


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&oylan. un#tuation, sele#tion, #omment, things usually asso#iated with authorial#ontrol, are missing.

Those amiliar with The Odyssey will see the ironi# #om"arison between 'olly&loom and with enelo"e, who uses her %nowledge o the #onstru#tion o hersand lysses2 bed to #on irm the identity o her long+absent husband. This#ha"ter begins and ends with the a irmati(e Hes. The yeses re"resent 'olly2songoing o"timism to li e in general, "un#tuating the #hoi#es she has made andthe memories she has re(isited during the entire solilo uy. The yesses alsore"resent Joy#e2s belie that women are a "ositi(e li e or#e, a notion he was at"ains to demonstrate in this remar%able solilo uy. The %ey here is to be ound in'olly2s ultimate de#ision to ser(e &loom brea% ast in bed tomorrow.

ulysses james yoyce

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