As the title suggests, I am currently reading Ulysses by James Joyce. As of now, I’ve finished part 1. And what the hell am I reading?
It’s awful. Both in the technical and literary sense. From
What I’ve read so far, it follows a day in the life of a guy named Stephen Deadalus. An Irish Catholic who is sad because he is Irish and Catholic. As for the technical writing, I was able to follow it at first. The guy talks with his room-mates, and then goes to work as a teacher. After that, it’s like Joyce took acid, threw a bunch of non sequitar sentences at the page, and called it a day.
For example;
“His lips lipped and mouthed fleshless lips of air: Mouth to her womb. Oomb, all wombing tomb. His mouth mounded issuing-breath, unspeeched ooeeehah: roar of cataractic planets, globes, blazing, roaring wayawayawayawayawayaway. Paper. The banknotes, Blast them. Old Deasy’s letter. Here. Thanking you for hospitality tear the blank end off. Turning his back to the sun he bent over far to a table rock and scribbled words. Thats twice I forgot to take slips from the library counter.
That’s one paragraph. Using the same formatting as the book. As far as I can tell he might be looking at a woman? Maybe a prostitute? I can’t tell.
Joyce chose to write at least ten pages like this. It’s a strange flow of consciousness that goes nowhere. Masters of an art can choose to break the rules. But is that really what happened here?
As for the plot, it’s not great. A little research before hand told me to look out for parallels with the odyssey. This is the closest I’ve been able to get. One of Deadalus’s housemates is an Englishman. It’s kind of like the suitors partying it up while Odysseus is away.
What I have seen a lot more of is wasted potential. Now, I’m not going to explain the entirety of irelands subjugation. I’d need a history degree k don’t possess to do it justice. There’s a LOT there. But suffice to say that historically, England treated the Irish like second class citizens, going so far as to suppress their language and culture.
Deadalus is angry about that. However, he is bunking up with possibly the only Englishman who gives a damn. The guy only views it as a trifle, but he wants to know about Gaelic language and culture! Instead of taking the opportunity to educate the man, potentially create a linguistic record, and influence his views, Deadalus considers him to be a nuisance. As if he is somehow trying to usurp the culture.
This is exemplified during a scene with a milk maid. The Englishman asks if she knows any Gaelic phrases. She asks if he means Irish, and then says no. Deadalus spends the next paragraph thinking about how awful the woman is, because (paraphrasing) her genitals are not like gods genitals and are like the genitals of eve which were tempted and are sinful. (Please note Deadalus is supposed to be a reflection of Joyce)
(As a small aside, this would be a good place to note that Deadalus has no actual faith. He follows cultural norms, and Thats about it. Except when he can demean women. That seems to be an exception)
Continuing on the theme of wasted opportunity, he goes on to his job as a teacher. There, he sees a student he thinks is similar to himself. As previously stated, he is upset about the loss of Irish culture. As a teacher, he has an opportunity to guide the next generation. Maybe Instill them with some of that language and culture. But he doesn’t. He just teaches them the bare curriculum and sends them in their way.
It shouldn’t be his job to solve the cultural suppression. Realistically, there isn’t much he can do. But he doesn’t even really seem to make much of an effort. It’s like he’s angry that it’s raining, but doesn’t even bother seeking cover.
All of this tells a story about a mopey man who has no hope. Not every protagonist should be sympathetic. But so far it’s like reading about paint drying. Instead of a character whose goals I can support, I’m reading about a husk with little to no direction or drive. It’s neither entertaining, nor does it seem to convey any particular message.
So that leaves me with the question, what is all the hype about? Does it suddenly get better in part 2? I read reviews calling it one of the greatest novels of all time. But about two thirds of what I read so far is barely coherent, let alone “great”
So what am I missing? Am I just not smart enough to see genius buried under the gibberish? I’m willing to believe that. But if Joyce purposefully hid the art and quality, he did a good job of it with words like “contransmagnificandjewbangtantiality”.
by cain11112