Why on Earth Should You Read Ulysses by James Joyce? (A Book Review and Concurrent Advertisement for the Humanities)
Senior Staff Writer Lydia Metcalf '26
Embedded Files
Okay, okay. I know what you’re thinking. “But Lydia, it’s the second hardest book in the English language!” (Yes.) “Don’t you need to read the entire Bible, the Iliad and the Odyssey, and Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man to understand that?” (No.) “What MAMS student has the time to read seven hundred pages of Modernist literature for fun?” (Apparently me! And you too, if you dare…) Just hear me out, all right?
So. Ulysses. Written in 1922 by James Joyce, it’s a story about one day where two dudes wander around Dublin and then go home. It’s also a retelling of the Odyssey, a critique of British domination in Ireland, an exploration of the history and future of the English language, and a very funny piece of satire. Ms. Liz recently asked me what it was about. “What isn’t it about?” said I, not entirely kidding. Each of the eighteen episodes parallels a story from the Odyssey, has its own plotline, and in most cases uses a distinct writing style that sets it apart from its neighbors.
But why should you, dear reader, open this esoteric tome? Let me give you five reasons.
#1: Don’t Make Me Laugh
Honestly? This book is just really funny! Joyce gets a bad rap for being confusing, dense, and impenetrable. None of those things are untrue, exactly, but you don’t have to understand the book perfectly to appreciate his humor. A scholarly discussion of Shakespeare is filled with puns such as, “If others have their will Ann hath a way” (Joyce 293). In the same discussion, one of our two main characters thinks that he ought not to owe any debts because all the molecules in his body have changed in the ensuing time and he is no longer the same person, in a sort of ship-of-Theseus-esque situation. Words are mashed together to form new words, sentences span multiple pages for comedy, and narrative abruptly becomes theatrical script or musical score. Many of the humorous and satirical aspects are derived from the use of the epic style to describe commonplace happenings such as a man giving his cat her breakfast. And of course, we have the crossheads in the “Aeolus” episode, which summarize each paragraph with pithy newspaper headlines such as “THOSE SLIGHTLY RAMBUNCTIOUS FEMALES” (Joyce 232). Speaking of “Aeolus”…
#2: It’s (Sort Of) About a Newspaper
Frequent readers of the Brickyard Beat will delight in the episode entitled “Aeolus,” wherein our feline-feeding hero goes to his day job at a newspaper. Now, of course, the Evening Telegraph is quite inferior to our own illustrious production, but nevertheless plays an important role in the development of the novel. This episode is one of the first hints that Ulysses is about to become more stylistically variable and challenging than before. As previously stated, the episode is written such that each major beat is summarized with a crosshead, or newspaper headline. These serve to satirize the literary scene at the time, but also make the text much easier to read: we, as the audience, know exactly what Joyce wants us to get out of each paragraph. And who wouldn’t love seeing our beloved mode of periodical communication play such a crucial role in an important work of literature?
#3: It’s For Nerds
Everything from physics to Shakespeare has a cameo in Ulysses. In “Lotus Eaters,” we are granted this mathematical tangent in the middle of the stream-of-consciousness narrative: “What is weight really when you say the weight? Thirtytwo feet per second, per second. Law of falling bodies : per second, per second” (Joyce 141). Keen observers will recognize this as the acceleration due to gravity on Earth. Clearly, Ulysses is a great way to put your junior year skills to the test by hunting down all the references to physics. Hmm… combining physics and literature? It’s giving Arcadia…
#4: Bragging Rights
Sitting in the MAMS library holding a book that’s bigger than your laptop, over two inches thick, and weighs about as much as a small child is sure to attract attention. I, personally, find this very amusing. And I won’t lie, it makes me feel quite accomplished to be halfway through such a notoriously difficult book. Maybe don’t read Ulysses for the sole reason that you’d like the ability to instantly end a conversation by stating that you’re in the middle of one of the most important works of Modernist literature. It is a distinctly tempting secondary bonus, though.
#5: Seriously… It’s Good
I’ll admit, I may have added some of my own satirical tendencies to this article. Ulysses is not for everyone. It’s a tough read, even for those of us who are English nerds. But I personally think it’s worth giving it a try. This is a story of oppressed people trying to find their place in life and the literary canon. It’s a book that shows us meaning in the ordinary. And it’s just plain fun! I’m often reminded of Arcadia, since both Stoppard and Joyce show us that everything from the lives of famous writers to entropy and mathematical laws factor into the tale of humanity. Don’t be intimidated by the reputation. Whether it’s STEM or humanities, sometimes the best way to become familiar with a subject is to just dive in - and we could all benefit from doing that more often, in both disciplines. And if you need an extra push to get started, I promise there is at least one unintentional “six seven” reference within the book. Where? And why? You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out!
Work Cited
Joyce, James. The Cambridge Centenary Ulysses: The 1922 Text with Essays and Notes. Edited by Catherine Flynn, Cambridge University Press, 2022.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse