This was a funny chapter many can relate to. Having your mind flutter around different topics when someone is talking to you and sneaking picks of women. By coincidence, I was taking the metro to the Chinese embassy in the morning, the car is packed with people heading for work in DC. While I listen to music, you can't help but look at your new neighbors and make judgments of them: who's attractive, who's not? how come that old man has a full head of hair while I lost all of mine in college? lucky bastard. etc. We all have random thoughts swimming in our head all the time (who was the child actor in Home Alone?) and it adds a nice addition to literature. It took time at first to differentiate between what is being said aloud or internally or is it the narrator narrating? But if you are reading Ulysses consistently and engaging with the text, the wrinkles iron out and you start to get the hang of things. Don't give up!
Nikolai Lipnicky I am very impressed with the way you express yourself. Have you done any writing? Your comments are spot on! I love the aside about Home Alone. You get it! Your comments will encourage others along their journey through Ulysses. Thank you. You made me smile.
Thanks for the kind words, Chris. I like to write on the side, especially for watching criterion collection films and books, I found it best to write personal commentaries to reinforce what you're reading. I hope that a youtube channel like this can show people that you don't have to be a college student to enjoy difficult works (and society has done a good job to make it seem that that is the case).
Right again! I plan other videos on the humanities soon. I want to open the door to people to enjoy the experience. There is a lot of wonderful writing, art, and music out there to experience.
Thank you so much for this video series. I'm book clubbing Ulysses right now with some great friends and your videos have heightened the reading experience tremendously.
Mr. Reich, many thanks for this guide. It is very comprehensive and a great aid in reading through the book for the first time. I hope you continue to make videos. Thank you!
Alex Zhukov Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate your kind words. Feel free to post your thoughts, questions, and points of disagreement on these episides. Your input will help others. Thank you again, Chris
I just discovered you. I hope you did finish your Ulysses guide lectures. I'm saving this one and will continue to do so. This relatively short time with you has encouraged me to continue my studies. Thank you. Back to you as soon as I can. Diana, Chicago.
I cannot tell you how helpful these clips have been in helping me understand this wonderful, if sometimes cryptic, book. Thank you for providing concise, well-researched and thought out explanations.
Thank YOU! Your comments mean a lot to me! If you are getting pleasure from the book, I am very pleased. I want people to approach the book for fun and enjoy, not drag through it. You are amazing! Keep going!
Sir, for you only I have come up to this and you are enlightening, pushing me hard..... and you are so passionate. You do it in one cut !!! Love you Sir.
This videos are so great. I am reading the novel for the first time, I have been meaning to do it for years but I always found it intimidating. And sure enough, it is challenging (particularly since English is not my first language) but having this detailed yet approachable discussion and insights to rely on after every chapter makes it so much easier. I am really thankful that you took the time to make this series, greetings from Argentina!
Sir, I listen to your explanation after reading each chapter to fill gaps and complete understanding of the story. U are doing a wonderful job of making sense of this tough book, explaining context of thoughts and incidents therein, to get their meaning and relevance. Thanks a lot
Thanks a lot for encouraging me to start reading Ulysses which I will approach as an adventure . Love the way you make it look easy and fascinating.When I read some episodes I'll tell you what I think of it. Thanks again!!! Greetings from Argentina!!
Thank you! Don't get discouraged. It's all about having fun with it. Greetings to you from California! If I can help, let me know. Enjoy your adventure!
Hi Chris! I have been enjoying your videos on Ulysses so far. It is my first time reading it, and your videos have helped clarify certain challenging passages as well as pointing out allusions that I missed! It’s a challenging read, but I’m enjoying it so far, and a big part of that is this series!
Hi Chris, thanks again for another great session. This time I want to write a little bit about some words Joyce uses consistently in the first pages of this episode: IDLENESS, SLEEPING and LETHARGY. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus and his companions have a mission: go back home whatever it takes. However the temptation of the easy way out is always in their way. Lethargy is very insidious because we rarely understand how dangerous it can be. The Snow Queen by Andersen, for example, does not phisically harm the boy, she just freezes his heart making him so numb he forgets about his friends, ambitions and dreams. All the same, in the Odyssey bu Homer, Lotus-eaters did not behave aggresively at all, they actually welcame Odysseus' men offering them food. "I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of nine days upon the sea, but on the tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus-eaters, who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. Here we landed to take in fresh water, and our crews got their mid-day meal on the shore near the ships. When they had eaten and drunk I sent two of my company to see what manner of men the people of the place might be, and they had a third man under them. They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching lotus" (The Oddysey, Book IX www.gutenberg.org/files/1727/1727-h/1727-h.htm#link2H_4_0012). Considering how tired they were, Lotus-eaters might have easily convinced them to stay there forever, forgetting about their families and their birthplace in idleness. Lethargy stops you from acting. Confines you in a fake comfort zone. Once you are idle and dull, you are not a menace to your enemies any more. History is full of examples. Starting from the Church, all those who had the power were happy to give PANEM AT CIRCENSES to the dull mass, so people gave up their silly dreams of relovution and started having FAITH in their governments. "Blind faith. Safe in the arms of kingdom come. Lulls all pain. Wake this time next year" I believe lethargy is synonym for oblivion that swallows everything like a black hole. History shall not be obliviated. Eyes shall not be taken off. If things don't change, the ghost of Christmas future will knock at our door sooner than we expect. Standing up against the force of gravity definitely requires a huge effort, but not to be discouraged, if we step one foot at the time, we will be as heroic as Leopold Bloom was when he replies no to Martha.
SUPERB! Your comments are excellent. What you write tells me that you have a good understanding of this episode. Joyce isn't easy but you get him! You should be very proud of that. I love all the references in this episode to all the things that dull us into subjection. It sounds to me that you not only get it, but are getting enjoyment from the book as well. You ought to be very proud for that!
Dear Chris, Joyce might have done an excellent job, but you are really making the difference. We cannot love what we don't understand and, so much often, we end up hating it, hating ourselves and those around us. That's where machism, sexism and racism come from. Ignorance leads to misbehavoir. Helping people understand what they could not understand enriches each and every one of us. Your videos give a huge contribution to society by, quoting Michael Jackson, healing the world and making it a better place. I am looking forward to reading the next episode and watching your next video. :-)
Cosimo, thank you very much for that huge compliment. I hope to earn in future videos on the humanities. I am trying to plan a party for us on Bloom's Day. You are very important to that plan so I am trying to get a time that will work in your zone. I hope to get 25 of us together for a web conference and celebration. It would be so fun to be able to talk with you. I have great respect for you and your excellent comments. You are paving the way for all the readers coming up behind you. Thank you for that!
Thank you for all your insight and work that has gone into these videos Chris, it has really enhanced my understanding of Ulysses! I think that I might have given up otherwise, whereas with these videos I can honestly say I can now enjoy the book and know what to look out for (without doing hours of prior reading per chapter!) Great job and my best wishes to you- thoroughly enjoying this literary odyssey so far
I join all the previous comments thanking you for your passion and insight and help understanding this masterpiece. I would like to point out the poetry throughout the book and tuits musicality, for example in the liquidity/fluidness of the sound “l” in the last para grape, describíng the bath.
Realy good lecture which has enlightened me a lot as I read this chater for the second time. Usurpation. Emasculation. Narcotics of various forms including the Catholic mass and masturbation. References to castration. The start of Blooms Odyssey. And especially the idea that the meeting with Kernan is a premonition of what he may become. Booms first step on the heroes journey - refusing Martha and masturbation in the bath. His positive feelings for Molly and his desire to turn things round and slay some demons. Thanks so much. I think you nailed this chapter and have understood well its pivotal place in the book.
I am reading Ulysses for the first time. After I read the first episode I went looking for a companion video to unpack some of the themes. I am now watching each of your videos before proceeding to the next episode. Love your content, your energy, and passion. Thanks for posting! No whisky this time? Cheers!
Chris, i am rewatching your series on Ulysses for my third reading of the novel. I also read Dubliners and Portrait in the meantime and am planning to read Finnegan's Wake soon. I would love to hear your opinion on one of these books, maybe in the form of a new series. I truly appreciate your effort put into the Ulysses series and know that it cost you a lot of time and work. So please know that I am only asking for a new round of commentary about some other of Joyce's works because I love your content. I'd also be happy to chat about your reading of the other novels so hit me up in case you're free and interested. Thanks again! Your videos are truly special!
Great stuff, Chris! Thank you for making this great book more accessible! I'm surprised you haven't drawn out the Hamlet references as much. I like your intrepretation of the bath as a baptism, but I think its also a reference to Ophelia drowning. The many flower and medicinal references can also be a reference to Ophelia as well. Is it that he's tortured in his love for his wife the same way that Ophelia is tortured by Hamlet's fluctuating passions?
Beautiful video Chris, I am getting immersed in Joyce Thanks to you. I like your repetitions, your hammering the essential points, the key point. On my part, when I read an episode for the first time I just enjoy the rhythm the consonants make.
hello, chris! on my second reading, which means enjoying your splendid and beautifully composed and spoken talks...everything about them is so thoughtful and RIGHT...so thanks again....what is the music played at the beginning of each one?
Thank you so much! I am so happy to hear from you. May I ask where you are? I love knowing people all over sharing this experience. If you get discouraged, drop me a note! You are going to finish.
Chris, this episode was informative and dramatic in its own right. The summing up in your last minute was as dramatic Robert Browning's dramatic monologue--"The Last Duchess." Your immersion in the character is infectious. Perhaps Bloom is "everyman"--like the characters in a Roth or Updike love. I am about to dig in once again to reread the same Episode. Can Joyce maintain the drama? Well, we will see! Oliver
Oliver Goldsmith Thank you! This means a lot to me coming from you. The more I tried to prepare for this episode, the more excited I felt and the more inadequate. I believe we might have some deep stuff here. The ending, the baptism and readiness for the next episode...Bloom next goes to Hades to deal with death. Isn't this incredible?
Great comment. I think Frank excelled in this episode and has caught its significance above most other analysts. Opened my eyes enormously and in such a helpful and important way.
Have been watching and reading so far and looking at everyones notes and feeling a little intimidated to contribute. However, the book I have just read prior to Ulysses is Joseph Campbells Hero with a Thousand faces and I'm noticing so much of it now that I'm getting used to Ulysses. I am a practicing Buddhist, (only 2 or 3 years in) and studying alot of the dharma and art symbology. I wish I was confident enough to make the parallels between both because there are many. Perhaps I will be able to do this reading the book for the second time.
Do not be afraid to add your thoughts. That is one of the great things about this project. We get to read points of view from people all over the world! That is a beautiful thing. Campbell's book is excellent and Joyce is certainly having Bloom on the hero's journey. Be confident and feel free to add your comments because we all appreciate them.
Pervert? Really? "He looks but he doesn't touch." "He's always trying to catch a glimpse." "But he doesn't act on it." I would wager that the pervert is the one who does not try to catch glimpses. I love your videos - you make Ulysses possible for me finally, after all these years.
Thank you, another very helpful video. I am not sure about the baptism idea at the end though... why would Joyce give his hero a symbolic baptism when he was not religious? Anyway, you've given me a lot to think about, so many thanks and cheerio.
This is a GREAT topic. Joyce was not typically religious but he never escaped the full beliefs of Catholicism. I think it makes sense. There are many Catholic rituals in the book from the very first words to the visit to Hades and Bloom's experience with the "virgin". Wonderful things to think about.
Yes I agree. One example is that books written by atheist Indian authors contain lots of references to religion, simply due to the authors’ upbringing.
Being in Bloom’s head is so much more enjoyable than being in Stephen’s, and much funnier, too! Much easier to follow, and I’m starting to see Joyce’s magic. He blends the narrative between the third person and stream of consciousness seamlessly, and in such a way that you instinctively know when it’s flipped from one to the other. I can now see why Cormac McCarthy cites Joyce as a big influence in his writing. One thing I wanted to say was I don’t think it’s totally clear from the last two chapters that Molly is definitely cheating on Bloom. Have I missed something or is there a line in there that makes is clear that Molly is cheating? I picked up her hiding the letter under the pillow, but also noticed that she didn’t hide the fact that the letter was from Boylan. Will I get more clarity later or can I assume that it’s still supposed to feel ambiguous? Another great video. Appreciate it 👍🏼
There is a clue that gets lost in modern culture. Boylan’s letter is addressed to Mrs Marion Bloom, when it should have been Mrs Leopold Bloom. Boylan is crossing a line and it minimises Leopold. It’s why his instant thought is “bold hand marion”.
Several times during this video you described Bloom as being perverse. An adult man admiring an attractive adult woman is not a sign of perversion - in fact it's the reason that we all exist. Now, if Bloom had been lusting after a dog - that would have indeed been perversion. To sum up, Bloom could definitely be accused of being lecherous, but a pervert - not by any definition.
This was a funny chapter many can relate to. Having your mind flutter around different topics when someone is talking to you and sneaking picks of women. By coincidence, I was taking the metro to the Chinese embassy in the morning, the car is packed with people heading for work in DC. While I listen to music, you can't help but look at your new neighbors and make judgments of them: who's attractive, who's not? how come that old man has a full head of hair while I lost all of mine in college? lucky bastard. etc. We all have random thoughts swimming in our head all the time (who was the child actor in Home Alone?) and it adds a nice addition to literature. It took time at first to differentiate between what is being said aloud or internally or is it the narrator narrating? But if you are reading Ulysses consistently and engaging with the text, the wrinkles iron out and you start to get the hang of things. Don't give up!
Nikolai Lipnicky I am very impressed with the way you express yourself. Have you done any writing? Your comments are spot on! I love the aside about Home Alone. You get it! Your comments will encourage others along their journey through Ulysses. Thank you. You made me smile.
Thanks for the kind words, Chris. I like to write on the side, especially for watching criterion collection films and books, I found it best to write personal commentaries to reinforce what you're reading. I hope that a youtube channel like this can show people that you don't have to be a college student to enjoy difficult works (and society has done a good job to make it seem that that is the case).
Right again! I plan other videos on the humanities soon. I want to open the door to people to enjoy the experience. There is a lot of wonderful writing, art, and music out there to experience.
you have allowed many people to understand this book in a very easy and fun way. Thank you.
Thank you! Your comments encourage others to take the challenge! I appreciate that you took the time to comment. Take care...Chris
Thank you so much for this video series. I'm book clubbing Ulysses right now with some great friends and your videos have heightened the reading experience tremendously.
Mr. Reich, many thanks for this guide. It is very comprehensive and a great aid in reading through the book for the first time. I hope you continue to make videos. Thank you!
Alex Zhukov Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate your kind words. Feel free to post your thoughts, questions, and points of disagreement on these episides. Your input will help others. Thank you again, Chris
I just discovered you. I hope you did finish your Ulysses guide lectures. I'm saving this one and will continue to do so. This relatively short time with you has encouraged me to continue my studies. Thank you. Back to you as soon as I can. Diana, Chicago.
I finished them and hope to hear more about your own journey through the book!
I cannot tell you how helpful these clips have been in helping me understand this wonderful, if sometimes cryptic, book. Thank you for providing concise, well-researched and thought out explanations.
Thank YOU! Your comments mean a lot to me! If you are getting pleasure from the book, I am very pleased. I want people to approach the book for fun and enjoy, not drag through it. You are amazing! Keep going!
Sir, for you only I have come up to this and you are enlightening, pushing me hard..... and you are so passionate. You do it in one cut !!! Love you Sir.
Hello! I did not see your very kind comments until now. Thank you. I hope you are well and continuing to read great books. Best wishes to you, sir.
Hi Chris, thanks so much for this. Reading this book is a totally different experience with your help. I am really enjoying this.
This videos are so great. I am reading the novel for the first time, I have been meaning to do it for years but I always found it intimidating. And sure enough, it is challenging (particularly since English is not my first language) but having this detailed yet approachable discussion and insights to rely on after every chapter makes it so much easier. I am really thankful that you took the time to make this series, greetings from Argentina!
Sir, I listen to your explanation after reading each chapter to fill gaps and complete understanding of the story. U are doing a wonderful job of making sense of this tough book, explaining context of thoughts and incidents therein, to get their meaning and relevance. Thanks a lot
Thanks a lot for encouraging me to start reading Ulysses which I will approach as an adventure . Love the way you make it look easy and fascinating.When I read some episodes I'll tell you what I think of it. Thanks again!!! Greetings from Argentina!!
Thank you! Don't get discouraged. It's all about having fun with it. Greetings to you from California! If I can help, let me know. Enjoy your adventure!
Thank you! It's been a really enlightening video about this chapter.
Hi Chris! I have been enjoying your videos on Ulysses so far. It is my first time reading it, and your videos have helped clarify certain challenging passages as well as pointing out allusions that I missed! It’s a challenging read, but I’m enjoying it so far, and a big part of that is this series!
Hi Chris, thanks again for another great session. This time I want to write a little bit about some words Joyce uses consistently in the first pages of this episode: IDLENESS, SLEEPING and LETHARGY. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus and his companions have a mission: go back home whatever it takes. However the temptation of the easy way out is always in their way. Lethargy is very insidious because we rarely understand how dangerous it can be.
The Snow Queen by Andersen, for example, does not phisically harm the boy, she just freezes his heart making him so numb he forgets about his friends, ambitions and dreams. All the same, in the Odyssey bu Homer, Lotus-eaters did not behave aggresively at all, they actually welcame Odysseus' men offering them food.
"I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of nine days upon the sea, but on the tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus-eaters, who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. Here we landed to take in fresh water, and our crews got their mid-day meal on the shore near the ships. When they had eaten and drunk I sent two of my company to see what manner of men the people of the place might be, and they had a third man under them. They started at once, and went about among the Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching lotus" (The Oddysey, Book IX www.gutenberg.org/files/1727/1727-h/1727-h.htm#link2H_4_0012).
Considering how tired they were, Lotus-eaters might have easily convinced them to stay there forever, forgetting about their families and their birthplace in idleness. Lethargy stops you from acting. Confines you in a fake comfort zone. Once you are idle and dull, you are not a menace to your enemies any more.
History is full of examples. Starting from the Church, all those who had the power were happy to give PANEM AT CIRCENSES to the dull mass, so people gave up their silly dreams of relovution and started having FAITH in their governments. "Blind faith. Safe in the arms of kingdom come. Lulls all pain. Wake this time next year"
I believe lethargy is synonym for oblivion that swallows everything like a black hole. History shall not be obliviated. Eyes shall not be taken off. If things don't change, the ghost of Christmas future will knock at our door sooner than we expect.
Standing up against the force of gravity definitely requires a huge effort, but not to be discouraged, if we step one foot at the time, we will be as heroic as Leopold Bloom was when he replies no to Martha.
SUPERB! Your comments are excellent. What you write tells me that you have a good understanding of this episode. Joyce isn't easy but you get him! You should be very proud of that. I love all the references in this episode to all the things that dull us into subjection. It sounds to me that you not only get it, but are getting enjoyment from the book as well. You ought to be very proud for that!
Dear Chris, Joyce might have done an excellent job, but you are really making the difference. We cannot love what we don't understand and, so much often, we end up hating it, hating ourselves and those around us. That's where machism, sexism and racism come from. Ignorance leads to misbehavoir. Helping people understand what they could not understand enriches each and every one of us. Your videos give a huge contribution to society by, quoting Michael Jackson, healing the world and making it a better place. I am looking forward to reading the next episode and watching your next video. :-)
Cosimo, thank you very much for that huge compliment. I hope to earn in future videos on the humanities. I am trying to plan a party for us on Bloom's Day. You are very important to that plan so I am trying to get a time that will work in your zone. I hope to get 25 of us together for a web conference and celebration. It would be so fun to be able to talk with you. I have great respect for you and your excellent comments. You are paving the way for all the readers coming up behind you. Thank you for that!
Thank you for all your insight and work that has gone into these videos Chris, it has really enhanced my understanding of Ulysses! I think that I might have given up otherwise, whereas with these videos I can honestly say I can now enjoy the book and know what to look out for (without doing hours of prior reading per chapter!) Great job and my best wishes to you- thoroughly enjoying this literary odyssey so far
I join all the previous comments thanking you for your passion and insight and help understanding this masterpiece. I would like to point out the poetry throughout the book and tuits musicality, for example in the liquidity/fluidness of the sound “l” in the last para grape, describíng the bath.
Realy good lecture which has enlightened me a lot as I read this chater for the second time. Usurpation. Emasculation. Narcotics of various forms including the Catholic mass and masturbation. References to castration. The start of Blooms Odyssey. And especially the idea that the meeting with Kernan is a premonition of what he may become. Booms first step on the heroes journey - refusing Martha and masturbation in the bath. His positive feelings for Molly and his desire to turn things round and slay some demons. Thanks so much. I think you nailed this chapter and have understood well its pivotal place in the book.
I am reading Ulysses for the first time. After I read the first episode I went looking for a companion video to unpack some of the themes. I am now watching each of your videos before proceeding to the next episode.
Love your content, your energy, and passion. Thanks for posting!
No whisky this time?
Cheers!
Oh, and your insights. Those are super helpful, too.
Thank you! Your comments mean a lot to me. I am sorry I did not see this earlier. I hope you are well and prospering.
@@TeachUBusiness you read bits of ULYSSES , I can tell by your poor synopsis. Unfortunately they is typical of wannabe Joycean scholars
Chris, i am rewatching your series on Ulysses for my third reading of the novel. I also read Dubliners and Portrait in the meantime and am planning to read Finnegan's Wake soon. I would love to hear your opinion on one of these books, maybe in the form of a new series. I truly appreciate your effort put into the Ulysses series and know that it cost you a lot of time and work. So please know that I am only asking for a new round of commentary about some other of Joyce's works because I love your content. I'd also be happy to chat about your reading of the other novels so hit me up in case you're free and interested. Thanks again! Your videos are truly special!
Great stuff, Chris! Thank you for making this great book more accessible! I'm surprised you haven't drawn out the Hamlet references as much. I like your intrepretation of the bath as a baptism, but I think its also a reference to Ophelia drowning. The many flower and medicinal references can also be a reference to Ophelia as well. Is it that he's tortured in his love for his wife the same way that Ophelia is tortured by Hamlet's fluctuating passions?
Beautiful video Chris, I am getting immersed in Joyce Thanks to you. I like your repetitions, your hammering the essential points, the key point. On my part, when I read an episode for the first time I just enjoy the rhythm the consonants make.
Wonderful! Your comments are EXCELLENT
Thank you for helping me to understand this fantastic book! Thank you so much!
Thank you for commenting. I love your enthusiasm. You are reading and enjoying a very tough book! Congratulations.
hello, chris! on my second reading, which means enjoying your splendid and beautifully composed and spoken talks...everything about them is so thoughtful and RIGHT...so thanks again....what is the music played at the beginning of each one?
Wonderful Analysis, gave a lot of perspective, thanks.
Thank you so much! I am so happy to hear from you. May I ask where you are? I love knowing people all over sharing this experience. If you get discouraged, drop me a note! You are going to finish.
@@TeachUBusiness
I am from delhi, love reading all kind of wrong books like fiction, philosophical books, little history...
Chris
Greeting from Taiwan.
Your comments help me a lot to understand this epic novel.
Thanks
Clay
So nice of you to take the time to write your comments! Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed your journey through the book. You are amazing!
Chris, this episode was informative and dramatic in its own right. The summing up in your last minute was as dramatic Robert Browning's dramatic monologue--"The Last Duchess." Your immersion in the character is infectious. Perhaps Bloom is "everyman"--like the characters in a Roth or Updike love. I am about to dig in once again to reread the same Episode. Can Joyce maintain the drama? Well, we will see! Oliver
Oliver Goldsmith Thank you! This means a lot to me coming from you. The more I tried to prepare for this episode, the more excited I felt and the more inadequate. I believe we might have some deep stuff here. The ending, the baptism and readiness for the next episode...Bloom next goes to Hades to deal with death. Isn't this incredible?
Great comment. I think Frank excelled in this episode and has caught its significance above most other analysts. Opened my eyes enormously and in such a helpful and important way.
Have been watching and reading so far and looking at everyones notes and feeling a little intimidated to contribute. However, the book I have just read prior to Ulysses is Joseph Campbells Hero with a Thousand faces and I'm noticing so much of it now that I'm getting used to Ulysses.
I am a practicing Buddhist, (only 2 or 3 years in) and studying alot of the dharma and art symbology. I wish I was confident enough to make the parallels between both because there are many. Perhaps I will be able to do this reading the book for the second time.
Do not be afraid to add your thoughts. That is one of the great things about this project. We get to read points of view from people all over the world! That is a beautiful thing. Campbell's book is excellent and Joyce is certainly having Bloom on the hero's journey. Be confident and feel free to add your comments because we all appreciate them.
Pervert? Really? "He looks but he doesn't touch." "He's always trying to catch a glimpse." "But he doesn't act on it." I would wager that the pervert is the one who does not try to catch glimpses. I love your videos - you make Ulysses possible for me finally, after all these years.
Thank you, another very helpful video. I am not sure about the baptism idea at the end though... why would Joyce give his hero a symbolic baptism when he was not religious? Anyway, you've given me a lot to think about, so many thanks and cheerio.
This is a GREAT topic. Joyce was not typically religious but he never escaped the full beliefs of Catholicism. I think it makes sense. There are many Catholic rituals in the book from the very first words to the visit to Hades and Bloom's experience with the "virgin". Wonderful things to think about.
Yes I agree. One example is that books written by atheist Indian authors contain lots of references to religion, simply due to the authors’ upbringing.
Being in Bloom’s head is so much more enjoyable than being in Stephen’s, and much funnier, too! Much easier to follow, and I’m starting to see Joyce’s magic. He blends the narrative between the third person and stream of consciousness seamlessly, and in such a way that you instinctively know when it’s flipped from one to the other. I can now see why Cormac McCarthy cites Joyce as a big influence in his writing.
One thing I wanted to say was I don’t think it’s totally clear from the last two chapters that Molly is definitely cheating on Bloom. Have I missed something or is there a line in there that makes is clear that Molly is cheating? I picked up her hiding the letter under the pillow, but also noticed that she didn’t hide the fact that the letter was from Boylan. Will I get more clarity later or can I assume that it’s still supposed to feel ambiguous?
Another great video. Appreciate it 👍🏼
I just noticed this comment! Very insightful. I too am a Cormac McCarthy fan. By now, you have clarity on Molly's situation! Take care...
There is a clue that gets lost in modern culture. Boylan’s letter is addressed to Mrs Marion Bloom, when it should have been Mrs Leopold Bloom. Boylan is crossing a line and it minimises Leopold. It’s why his instant thought is “bold hand marion”.
Who the 💩 disliked this video? Lol
i did , its balderdash , your english is reduced to emojis so that sums up your intellect you idiot
Jeff Milner
Nice run on sentence and inability to use contractions correctly. The irony is lost on such intellect as yours I’m sure.
the idea of mccoy being gay...where is that suggested? the soft touch?
Several times during this video you described Bloom as being perverse. An adult man admiring an attractive adult woman is not a sign of perversion - in fact it's the reason that we all exist. Now, if Bloom had been lusting after a dog - that would have indeed been perversion. To sum up, Bloom could definitely be accused of being lecherous, but a pervert - not by any definition.
10:30
rubbish
Really?