Ulysses by James Joyce (Book Analysis) E-Book

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• Kategorie: Bildung
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• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 37

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Ulysses with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Ulysses by James Joyce, which follows Leopold Bloom, a humanistic and grotesquely portrayed advertising agent who is desperately trying to win back the love of his unfaithful wife, in an enthralling contemporary rewrite of Homer’s Odyssey. The work is considered to be one of the most important examples of modernism and has attracted praise, controversy and scrutiny, even including early obscenity trials. It is partly due to this work, with its personal touches and compelling stream of consciousness technique, that Joyce is regarded as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century.
Find out everything you need to know about Ulysses in a fraction of the time!
This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary• Character studies• Key themes and symbols• Questions for further reflection
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Leseprobe

James Joyce

Irish poet and novelist

Born in Dublin (Ireland) in 1882Died in Zurich (Switzerland) in 1941Notable works:Chamber Music (1907), collection of poemsA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), novelFinnegans Wake (1939), novel

James Joyce came from a large family and had a Jesuit education before rejecting Catholicism at the age of 16. Later, he developed a similar way of thinking to that of Thomas Aquinas (Italian priest, 1225-1274). He spent the majority of his life in exile in order to distance himself from Ireland, whose immobility and religious divisions he detested, and with which he never managed to identify.

Initially roaming between Paris and Dublin, it was in Switzerland – where he taught at the Berlitz School – and in Italy where Joyce found refuge with Nora Barnacle (1884-1951), his partner. From 1906, he was afflicted with an eye condition which caused him to go gradually blind.

Although he was admired by many great figures of international literature, Joyce only got by on the donations of his rare admirers. He visited Marcel Proust (French writer, 1871-1922) in Paris in the 1920s and befriended Samuel Beckett (Irish writer, 1906-1989). Knowing he was nearing the end of his life, he returned to Zurich in 1940 where he died some time later. A real literary oddity, he was misunderstood and not widely read in his time.

Ulysses

A humble epic

Genre: multi-genre novelReference edition: Joyce, J. (2000) Ulysses. London: Penguin.First edition: 1922Themes: Dublin, society, romantic relationships, sexuality, roaming, identity, myths.

Ulysses appeared as a series in the American magazine The Little Review between 1918 and 1920, then as a book in 1922.The title immediately informs the author of the link between this novel and the Odyssey, the famous epic by the Greek poet Homer (8th century BC). The story unfolds over a day in Dublin and is centred around two characters: Stephen Dedalus, the author’s alter ego, embodying a new Telemachus; and Leopold Bloom, an advertising agent, the new Ulysses whose quest consists of winning back the love of his unfaithful wife, Molly.

The story, considered obscene by Joyce’s contemporaries, was banned in the United States until 1931, although Hemingway (American writer, 1899-1961) circulated several volumes. Its rich narrative now means that we consider it as a major 20th century work.

Summary

In Ulysses, the events take place from 8am until around 3am the following day. Although this summary keeps the temporality set out by the story, it does, however, compare the main actions of Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus, which are recounted in different parts of the novel. The unexpected developments of the story and its three-part structure – ‘The Telemachiad’, ‘The Odyssey’ and ‘The Nostos’ – directly recall Homer’s Odyssey as well as the characters of Telemachus and Odysseus. In order to understand the symbolic significance present here, the reader will find, for each protagonist who represents the alter ego of a key character in the Greek work, their name in brackets.

Good to know

The Odyssey, written after the Iliad, is an ancient epic attributed to the Greek poet Homer and dating back to the 8th century BC. Its main protagonist is Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin), King of Ithaca. After fighting in the Trojan War, he wants to return home to join his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus.

However, his journey back to those lands will last ten years, a journey during which he will be diverted from island to island and will meet mythological figures that are still well-known today. While he roams, Telemachus does everything he can to find his father and to thwart the crowd of suitors who wish to marry his mother just to steal the throne. To do this, he will seek advice from Nestor – one of the very few companions of Odysseus who has returned home without trouble – and from Menelaus, the King of Sparta.