I have about two minutes to write so this will be quick... I found this episode the most frustrating out of all of Ulysses. My reading experience truly mimicked the emotive tone of the chapter. I found it extremely difficult to follow. It is written outside of a character's perspective, and seems to be told from the noise of the newsroom. "Almost human the way it sllt to call attention. Doing its level best to speak," (121).
This chapter is riddled with noise. It's as if no one is listening to each other. No one can hear each other or remain focused on the conversation or the task at hand. Bloom is clumsy, and given many obstacles, ultimately rejected by his peers as he is by Molly. There is so much more going on that I don't have time to delve into. I also have a very loose understanding of this chapter, and hope that class today helps tighten up the wheels in my brain. More on Aeolus later...
1 comment:
In spite of the fragmentary response to Aeolus, your comments are good and thorough, with appropriate uses of the text. You are focusing on Joyce's treatment of death, view of women, specifics such as the silk hats, and other species of Joyce's essentially moral outlook. This is good, showing a more grounded reading. One danger I see is that your responses sometimes draw conclusions, such as Bloom's view that nature at least ends death - at the end of "Hades." Be ready, however, for these ideas, as well as the view of women, to transmute in a protean manner as the book goes on. You mention Bloom as a Christ figure several times, and in the chapter we are about to dive into, "Lestrygonians," this becomes even more salient. Again, though, this doesn't mean Bloom=Christ. Just a reminder - I didn't mean you would take it that way. Anyway, the Christ/Bloom connection may be pursuable... may have to find an angle on this. You also, naturally enough, mention Bloom/Rudy... a very big subject, and we'll see it take on new protean forms in S&C, as we hear Stephen's extraordinary reading of Hamlet. Some of these, or whatever strikes you, could be an avenue for research.... start early! Remember, it's like a delicate structure in which every part is related to every other part... your paper must approach it that way.
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