Ulysses Notes

So I’m reading Ulysses now too. What do you think about that. I want to do something about the notion of Orientalism with Ulysses, so please feel free to post some comments.

I’ve got through the first two sections and am thoroughly depressed for some reason.

Something about Stephen’s arrogance makes me sad for some reason.

Anyway, Joyce wrote this book (in part) as a response to the notion of high literature (ie the odyssey) and the past. It loosely follows the action of the Odyssey with Stephen as the fatherless figure (he “has” a father, but not really) and Bloom as Ulysses/Odysseus.

He wrote each chapter in such a way as to build up something chock full of symbolism and other various meanings, something that changes as you read it and as you read it again.

Each chapter has a corresponding color, art, body part, and chapter of the Odyssey.

Some things to notice along the way:

Ireland – this book is very much about Ireland, as a colonized society under the thumb of the English. Notice the Haines stuff, I think it sounds like he’s a cheap bastard living with them, but he’s also English, and while the other 2 (Mulligan and Stephan) make fun of that fact (oh, he’s English, he’s imperilizing our house) they are actually living under that situation. Check with Mr. Deasey too, while he claims to have “rebels” in his family, he’s very much into the notion of English capitalism (his payment to Stephen (ps did he rip Stephen off?) – he also says something along the lines of saving money like an Englishman.

Stephen refers to Irish art as a cracked mirror – this is one of the main issues of the whole book. What can we do about the notion of past “classic” art as being the “only” type of art to look at and love? Especially if it’s not a good representation of ourselves? Who are we as people if we are made up of so many fractured and faulty pieces? What can we do to be individuals?

The notion of the self as a character was a new one when Ulysses was written (1922 ish). The advent of psychology, individualism, and modern art (POUND SAYS “MAKE IT NEW”) all played into this new period of writing that explored the individual at an unexplored level.

The notion of a “hero” – what is a hero? A Greek war veteran returning home and fighting through trials and tribulations to get back home (the Odyssey) and slay the suitors at his wife’s house? Or a bumbler walking around.

Stephen is trying to make sense out of the world, trying to search for “reality” as defined in his philosophy books and poetry books, but he’s having a hard time doing it. He is having trouble trying to see his world (his poor, hungry, oppressed condition, his school room with his spoiled dumb rich kids, his ineffectual and stupid headmaster who is anti-semitic and uses Stephen to get his very wrong article on hoof and mouth disease published) through the eyes of the past, Stephen is trying to make sense of his world through the writing of people like Aristotle, and he’s going nuts because of it.

Anti-Semitism – this book was written before WW2, but conditions throughout Europe undoubtedly led to the Nazi Germany garbage with the Jews, anti-semitism was rampant at the time, especially in Europe and England. Mr. Deasey here is trying to be English in his anti-semitism. You will meet Bloom in a little while, and he is a Jew living in Dublin.

Joyce was making a portrait of Dublin and every scene consists of real places in Dublin. His characters walk and talk in real time. Joyce actually walked around Dublin timing himself to make the book more coherent. The pubs, businesses and buildings are all real, and many of them still exist today. Every June 16, Bloomsday takes place in Dublin with a bunch of fools walking around in Bloom’s footsteps and doing what he did. June 16, 1904 is the date the book is supposed to take place, it was the first date between Joyce and his wife Nora.

Death – Stephen’s mother is dead, recently. It’s on his mind and he’s trying to make sense of it in some ironic, youthful, academic way, but again he’s having problems doing it. He lives in the world of smirking academia and thinks most all people are stupid.

Chapter 1: Stephen, Haines and Mulligan sit around their castle student pad. Stephen is the only one that has a job it seems. The others want to use his cash to get wasted. The milk lady comes and they pay for their milk, there is some discussion about Gaelic, the lost Irish language. They are all arrogant, young, spoiled, and yet don’t have any money themselves. They go swimming, Haines tries to impress Stephen, but Stephen thinks most people are idiots, including Haines. In part, Stephen is right, though negative. There is a cool old man leaving the water when they arrive and they make fun of him. Mulligan goes swimming, Stephen takes off.

Chapter 2: Stephen teaches history. The kids get to get out early to play hockey outside. One student comes up to Stephen for help and Stephen tries his best to be empathetic to him. He thinks about mother’s love and how it may be the only real thing in the world. He goes to Mr. Deasey, his headmaster, office and gets paid (does he get ripped off? I though he was supposed to get 4 pounds?). His headmaster wants Stephen to use his connections to get an article/letter published in the newspapers. It’s about hoof and mouth disease and is flawed. The headmaster throws some classical language around to impress Stephen.

Stephen makes ironic statements about God and Ireland, the headmaster is not amused and doesn’t understand but doesn’t feel he needs to.

Chapter 3: haven’t read it yet but it starts with Stephen walking on the beach. He’s trying to see if he closes his eyes then does reality disappear? He’s being very pretentious, but also being very deep, and very stupid, all at once.

His philosophical wonderings are interrupted by the world – some people walking with a dog, he’s afraid of the dog, he needs to take a leak and so he pees, but wonders if the sea will wash away his “ashplant.”

Stephen carries around an ashplant, kind of a cane, like a nerd.