Chapter 1
I figure I will start with my own summary of the actual book, and then add notes from the lecture afterwards to see how much insight and nuances and bullshit I missed on my own. I have to note that the grammar structure in this book is highly confusing; it's hard to tell who's speaking half the time as Joyce doesn't use quotation marks and often breaks into sentences with a He Said, then continues on with the actual quote. I've heard this book described as having an experimental style, and so far, I'd say that experiment is a damn failure unless the goal was the confuse the hell out of your audience.
Book Summary:
The book opens with two men standing on a parapet of some sort, one working a bowl of lather as he prepares to shave. His name is Malachi "Buck" Mulligan, a plump medical student who apparently speaks several languages including Greek, and he calls out to the other, a young morose writer named Stephen Dadelus, to join him as he conducts a strange, mock religious ceremony. Emphasis on the mock part, as he refers to Stephen as a fearful jesuit multiple times througout the chapter. Stephen expresses his displeasure with the third man staying with them, an Englishman named Haines, and Buck does his best to gloss over the subject.
In the course of shaving, it's revealed that Stephen's mother has just died and Buck callously references an aunt blaming Stephen for her death as he refused to kneel down at her side and pray with her at the end. Throughout the conversation, Stephen continues to have visions of his dead mother in her graveclothes haranguing him for his actions, demonstrating that this young man is suffering from severe guilt, and really needs to lay off the booze if he's continuely seeing visions of a dead woman. I would prefer pink elephants, myself. Buck senses that Stephen is mad at him and as he presses for an answer, Stephen references his reaction to the news of Stephen's death, feeling insulted by how he was treated. Buck dismisses the event as glibly as possible, and then tells Stephen to quit moping about and cheer up. Stephen reveals that he is getting paid that day, a sum of four soverigns, at which time Buck decides they need to go out and get gloriously drunk, even launching into a song about Coronation Day. (Not too hard to see the reference of a soverign coin and and actual soverign being sworn in on Coronation day; I wonder if that is actual song that people would sing on pay day?)
Their guest, Haines, calls out from below for Buck, and he heads down to start breakfast. Stephen stands on the deck of what is later revealed to be an actual tower that they're renting, known as the Martello towers that were built by the British to fight off a Napoleonic invasion fleet that never actually arrived. After a short daydream, he heads down to help out with the preparation of breakfast as Buck continues to sing and caper about, making up strange rhymes and Irish stories for Haines, who apparently is very interested in the Irish culture and looks to be writing a book about it. Stephen half heartedly helps in his story time, until Buck complains that they're out of milk for their tea and complains the milk lady was late in arrival.
Just as he mentions the lack of milk, the milk lady suddenly appears at the door, refilling their jug and acting quite deferential to both Buck and Haines, but mostly ignoring Stephen. Haines speaks Gaellic to her, but she doesn't understand it, mistaking it for French. After a few lines of idle chit chat, she heads out on her way and they get back to their breakfast. Haines is interested in what insight and stories that Stephen can provide for his book when Stephen wryly asks whether he'd get paid for it. Haines gives a non answer, and then heads outside to get some air while Buck takes the opportunity to berate Stephen for being so blunt about what has been Buck's plan all along. Buck appears to be broke at all times, and even shortchanges the milk lady, so he demonstrates his user mentality fairly blantatly at this point.
They all head outside, Buck to take a swim, while Haines and Stephen have a cigarette and Haines asks Stephen about his Hamlet theory that Buck had brought up. Stephen changes the subject, which end up leading to an interesting line reveal. He says he has two masters, an Italian and a Brit. He calls the Italian a demanding old queen that wants him on his knees, and the Brit is the stand in for the British empire. Obviously, the Italian is his catholicism that he doesn't appear to enjoy, but it guides him in his actions whether he likes it or not. He sounds like many a catholic I've encountered in my life. Haines isn't offended by the British reference, and even condescendingly states how he should feel that way, being an Irishman, and that he as a Brit wouldn't want someone else commanding his country, such as all the German jews attempting to do so back home. As Buck takes a swim, Stephen leaves the key to the tower and a couple of coins at his request, and then heads out, vowing not to come back there that night or home.
Stephen continually refers to usurpers in various points, which I suppose refers to the Brit in his home representing the actual British empire dominating his homeland, and his friend who is quick to take up with Haines in the hopes of a few coin. Apparently, Stephen thinks himself far too principled to sell out his country and his soul, although he makes no effort to stand up to either of the men and acquiesces to their demands without comment. What a pussy.
Saturday, November 08, 2014
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Great Courses: Ulysses-The Story of a Modern Masterpiece
To combat the boredom of sitting in traffic, I’ve decided to start listening to the Great Courses series to keep me from potentially murdering that one person in the fast lane who loves leaving 10 car lengths in front of them at all times until you attempt to pass. I decided to start with one of my great failures as a reader, that being one of the most interminable slogs I’ve attempted to digest, Ulysses by James Joyce. I’ve decided to start with this for several reasons; I want to finally finish what I started all those years ago, and I’m also heading to Ireland for Thanksgiving on vacation. Being Joyce is one of the most famous of writers from an island known for their writers, I figured it would help me get in the mindset of a Dubliner, so to speak.
To make sure I stick with it and actually learn something, I’ve decided to write up a summary and my thoughts on each part of the lecture as I read along with the book. The lecture series is helpfully broken into parts that discuss each chapter individually, so I’ll be able to do this one piece at a time. Now that I’ve listened to the intro lecture titled The Story of Modern Masterpiece, I think I’m ready to take on this most difficult book.
The professor giving the lecture for this series is James A. W. Heffernan, a professor of English at Dartmouth by way of Georgetown and Princeton, so I half assumed he would be an obnoxious, stuffed shirt droning on and on until I fell asleep and ended up in a five car pileup. Luckily, that expectation couldn’t be farther from the truth. He has a very clear, authoritative voice, and he speaks with passion on the subject, bringing it to life for the listener. After listening to the first part, I’m already motivated to see all the things I’ve missed out on having been unable to tackle this book on my own.
He starts with a short summary of the origins of the book and it’s contemporary reviews. Let’s just say they weren’t particularly kind. Thought of as turgid, pornographic, and confusing(incidentally, these were my first thoughts when trying to read it 15 years ago), it wasn’t received all that well in the literary circles. However, it did pick up several American luminaries that were quite taken with it, such as Ernest Hemmingway, Ezra Pound, and T. S. Eliot. Of course, none of those three is a selling point for me; I don’t much care for poetry and Hemmingway is vastly overrated in my opinion. Written in Paris by Joyce in 1922, it was apparently banned in the United States until 1933 due to the pornographic nature of some of the passages. The lecturer states that it’s probably the first book to have the main protagonist masterbating; I suppose harlequin novels hadn’t quite been developed yet.
The title of the book is interesting as it relates to the story itself. While the book only takes place over one day, June 16th, 1904, now referred to as Bloomsday by fans of the novel and named after the main character Leopold Bloom, the characters parallel the great adventure poem the Odyssey by Homer. Why was the title of the book the Latinized form of the name of Odysseus instead of Greek? Apparently, Joyce never learned Greek, having studied Latin and French, always regretting that he was unable to read the epic poetry in it’s native language. I doubt this makes much of a difference to the novel itself, but it is a rather fascinating look into the writer’s mind. Joyce was introduced to the character Ulysses in a children’s book made up of the various adventures when he was young and he was so taken with the complexity of Ulysses that he used it for the basis of his most respected book.
The lecturer gives a short history of the Odyssey for those that apparently missed that class back in high school, and discusses how the three main characters of the novel are reincarnations of the ancient Greek characters of the ancient poem. Ulysses is represented by Leopold Bloom, a man who doesn’t quite fit into his world due to his heritage. His father was a Jew from the mainland who converted to Christianity in order to marry a Catholic Irish girl, Leopold’s mother. Bloom is not a Jew in any religious sense, but it seems that the ethnicity plays a role throughout the story. Ulysses son Telemachus is represented by the second main character Stephen Dedalus, a young writer who actually appears in a previous novel called Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (I had no idea Ulysses qualified as a spinoff/sequel-take that Marvel!), a non practicing catholic who is obsessed with said religion, and who is a failed writer descending into alcoholism due to guilt regarding the death of his mother. He apparently becomes a surrogate son to Bloom at some point throughout the novel. The last character who really only appears in one chapter is Leopold’s wife, Molly Bloom. She is representing Ulysses’ wife Penelope, although appears to be quite a bit less chaste, considering Molly is openly having an affair with another man.
Now that the stage is set, the characters are introduced, the only thing left is to actually read the damn thing and listen to the good professor’s interpretations of what James Joyce was trying to say. Being this book is 18 chapters, I have a feeling this is going to take a while. Hopefully, it’s quite the ride.
To make sure I stick with it and actually learn something, I’ve decided to write up a summary and my thoughts on each part of the lecture as I read along with the book. The lecture series is helpfully broken into parts that discuss each chapter individually, so I’ll be able to do this one piece at a time. Now that I’ve listened to the intro lecture titled The Story of Modern Masterpiece, I think I’m ready to take on this most difficult book.
The professor giving the lecture for this series is James A. W. Heffernan, a professor of English at Dartmouth by way of Georgetown and Princeton, so I half assumed he would be an obnoxious, stuffed shirt droning on and on until I fell asleep and ended up in a five car pileup. Luckily, that expectation couldn’t be farther from the truth. He has a very clear, authoritative voice, and he speaks with passion on the subject, bringing it to life for the listener. After listening to the first part, I’m already motivated to see all the things I’ve missed out on having been unable to tackle this book on my own.
He starts with a short summary of the origins of the book and it’s contemporary reviews. Let’s just say they weren’t particularly kind. Thought of as turgid, pornographic, and confusing(incidentally, these were my first thoughts when trying to read it 15 years ago), it wasn’t received all that well in the literary circles. However, it did pick up several American luminaries that were quite taken with it, such as Ernest Hemmingway, Ezra Pound, and T. S. Eliot. Of course, none of those three is a selling point for me; I don’t much care for poetry and Hemmingway is vastly overrated in my opinion. Written in Paris by Joyce in 1922, it was apparently banned in the United States until 1933 due to the pornographic nature of some of the passages. The lecturer states that it’s probably the first book to have the main protagonist masterbating; I suppose harlequin novels hadn’t quite been developed yet.
The title of the book is interesting as it relates to the story itself. While the book only takes place over one day, June 16th, 1904, now referred to as Bloomsday by fans of the novel and named after the main character Leopold Bloom, the characters parallel the great adventure poem the Odyssey by Homer. Why was the title of the book the Latinized form of the name of Odysseus instead of Greek? Apparently, Joyce never learned Greek, having studied Latin and French, always regretting that he was unable to read the epic poetry in it’s native language. I doubt this makes much of a difference to the novel itself, but it is a rather fascinating look into the writer’s mind. Joyce was introduced to the character Ulysses in a children’s book made up of the various adventures when he was young and he was so taken with the complexity of Ulysses that he used it for the basis of his most respected book.
The lecturer gives a short history of the Odyssey for those that apparently missed that class back in high school, and discusses how the three main characters of the novel are reincarnations of the ancient Greek characters of the ancient poem. Ulysses is represented by Leopold Bloom, a man who doesn’t quite fit into his world due to his heritage. His father was a Jew from the mainland who converted to Christianity in order to marry a Catholic Irish girl, Leopold’s mother. Bloom is not a Jew in any religious sense, but it seems that the ethnicity plays a role throughout the story. Ulysses son Telemachus is represented by the second main character Stephen Dedalus, a young writer who actually appears in a previous novel called Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (I had no idea Ulysses qualified as a spinoff/sequel-take that Marvel!), a non practicing catholic who is obsessed with said religion, and who is a failed writer descending into alcoholism due to guilt regarding the death of his mother. He apparently becomes a surrogate son to Bloom at some point throughout the novel. The last character who really only appears in one chapter is Leopold’s wife, Molly Bloom. She is representing Ulysses’ wife Penelope, although appears to be quite a bit less chaste, considering Molly is openly having an affair with another man.
Now that the stage is set, the characters are introduced, the only thing left is to actually read the damn thing and listen to the good professor’s interpretations of what James Joyce was trying to say. Being this book is 18 chapters, I have a feeling this is going to take a while. Hopefully, it’s quite the ride.
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
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