The Character of Molly Bloom in Ulysses
In James Joyce's Ulysses, the character of Molly Bloom appears significantly only twice in the entire span of the novel. She appears for the first time in the episode "Calypso," then we do not hear from her again until the very end, in her own words, in "Penelope." Yet in these two instances, Joyce paints a very affectionate, lighthearted and humorous portrait of Molly Bloom -- perhaps not a complete rendition, but a substantial one, with enough colors and lines to sketch the person adequately.
Simply put, Molly (Marion) Bloom is an earthy woman. The "Penelope" episode provides a no-holds-barred, candid look into Molly Bloom's whirling mind. It is through this episode where Joyce gives us a startlingly frank look into her thoughts, which include rather coarse language as well as explicit references to sexual encounters. But Joyce presents them with humor, and never allows the material to grow heavy in terms of convoluted symbols and mechanisms. Instead, we witness Molly ponder various topics, and hence we begin to understand who she is.
When Joyce introduces us to Molly in "Calypso," he almost immediately presents us with a rather amusing image of a nonchalant, perhaps even aimless -- and to a certain degree, lazy -- woman. Remaining in her bed, she urges Leopold to "Hurry up with that tea" (62) and, inquires about a certain word after "having wiped her fingertips smartly on the blanket." (64) Her careless attitude demonstrated here adds to the lightheartedness Joyce intends. Later on in "Penelope," we witness another example of the humor:
I never thought that would be my name Bloom when I used to write it in print to see how it looked on a visiting card or practising...
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... 1904 at least, she spends an entire day, more or less, in bed. It is easy, though, to forget that this novel only represents the occurrences of one day, and this episode represents Molly's thoughts for a short period of time, before she drifts off to sleep. We don't get to see what she's like at a performance, or how others see her as a singer, and how good her voice really is. This entire portrait of her could be a one-dimensional view into a multi-dimensional person.
Yet all this aside, Joyce ultimately provides us with humor in the character of Molly Bloom. For one day at least, we have the opportunity to look into her mind; it is not a mind weary with terribly complex theories or philosophies, but a mind brimful of more down-to-earth thoughts and ideas. Earthy Molly Bloom.
Work Cited
Joyce, James. Ulysses. Ed. H.W. Gabler. New York: Vintage, 1986.
When her husband and children are gone, she moves out of the house and purses her own ambitions. She starts painting and feeling happier. “There were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day” (Chopin 69). Her sacrifice greatly contributed to her disobedient actions. Since she wanted to be free from a societal rule of a mother-woman that she never wanted to be in, she emphasizes her need for expression of her own passions. Her needs reflect the meaning of the work and other women too. The character of Edna conveys that women are also people who have dreams and desires they want to accomplish and not be pinned down by a stereotype.
Joyce Carol Oates was a true change in American Literature. She associated many novels that revealed political stances along with physical and psychological pain. (1) Joyce grew up in a rough neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. It was not uncommon for her to behold mistreatment, abuse, and gang violence; especially towards women. Detroit was a major political city were women’s rights were being fought. (2) Physical brawls broke out all over the city due to the uprising of women who wanted the same rights as men. (2) This uprising was called the Feminist Rights Movement. Women were mistreated and held unequal to men, they were not even allowed to be apart of any work force or vote. (7) organizations for women started to emerge all of the united States. (4) Joyce took experiences that she undertook and witnessed first hand and used them cleverly in her novels. (3) She accumulated her experiences in one of her most famous novels We Were the Mulvaney’s. (5) This novel refers to both physical and psychological pain among all the characters. Rape, death, abuse and how women were treated were all presented in this book. (5) Mrs. Mulvaney, the mother, always tended to her husbands needs, even if she disagreed with them. Mrs. Mulvaney had no say in any of the matters that arose. She even sent away her own daughter for the better of her husband.
In this comparative essay, I shall be analysing Lawrence’s Odour of Chrysanthemums and Joyce’s A Painful Case (Dubliners), identifying and highlighting similarities, but also examining the divergences. I will be scrutinizing the elegantly intertwined fibres which are the symbols and motifs of both stories, in search of intersections, moments of parallelism and detachments.
Joyce was born in a Dublin suburb on February 2, 1882 to John Stanislaus Joyce and Mary Jane Joyce. He was the first born of ten children and, as the family grew, their financial situation worsened. With each new child John was forced to mortgage another of his inherited properties until there was nothing left. Despite his predicament, John remained a very witty man, and often used his wit to undermine that which was bothering him at the time, whether it was the church, the government or his wife's family. This distinctive trait would also be adopted by his eldest and most dear son James in later years. In September of 1888 young James was enrolled in Clongowes Wood College, a Jesuit school of some prestige, but was withdrawn in June of 1891 because of his father's poor finances. This period is significant, however, since this was the first that he was separated from his supportive family for any length of time. Some of his experiences at Clongowes would later be recounted in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The rigorous Jesuit training he received appears to have been a turn off to the young Joyce and ...
“Your child has autism spectrum disorder” are words no parent wants to hear. They are words that will instill fear, worry, and sadness. When parents hear this for the first time, they will have many questions. “Is there anything I can do to help my child? If so, what can be done?” Early intervention services; such as applied behavior analysis therapy, occupational therapy, sensory integration therapy, and speech therapy before the age of three; can help improve the development of children with autism spectrum disorder. As an educator, early intervention is a subject teachers should be well educated in. It would be beneficial to the educator and the student, for a teacher to know and understand early intervention strategies.
We are told there are days when she "was happy to be alive and breathing, when her whole being seemed to be one with sunlight.." On such days Edna "found it good to be alone and unmolested." Yet on other days, she is molested by despondencies so severe that "...
2. People with autism have problems with abstract and conceptual thinking. Some may eventually acquire abstract skills, but others never will. When abstract concepts must be used, use visual cues, such as drawings or written words, to augment the abstract idea. Avoid asking vague questions such as, "Why did you do that?" Instead, say, "I did not like it when you slammed your book down when I said it was time for gym. Next time put the book down gently, and tell me that you are angry. Were you showing me that you did not want to go to gym, or that you did not want to stop reading?" Avoid asking essay-type questions. Be as concrete as possible in all your interactions with these students.
Snell, M. E. (2003). Autism, Education of Individuals with. In J. W. Guthrie (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Education (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 161-162). New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
Twentieth Century Interpretations of Dubliners. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: 1968. Torchiana, Donald T. Backgrounds for Joyce’s Dubliners. Allen & Unwin, Inc. Winchester, Massachusetts: 1986.
... we see that life is a façade; the characters disguise their sorrow in modesty. Joyce’s portrayal of Ireland undoubtedly creates a desire to evade a gloomy life.
Joyce sends this message through his main character in the story which is Eveline. Eveline is an individual stuck in the boring routine of life, but is given the opportunity to take a chance and possibly make a better life for herself by leaving Dublin and going to Buenos Ayres with a man who she loves named Frank. However, in the end, Eveline chooses to not take the opportunity given to her and instead decides to continue with the monotonous routine of her life in Dublin. Many authors of short stories allow the reader to make their own judgments of characters. However, Joyce decides to show his frustration with Eveline at the end of the story and judges her harshly. In fact, Joyce goes as far as to call Eveline a “helpless animal.”
As a female university student, I feel deeply related to Marjorie since her personality is quietly similar to mine. Analogously, I could feel Bernice’s “vague pain” (Fitzgerald, 3) and realize her sensitivity as the things have happened to me when I was younger. In order to comprehend author’s main idea, I did numerous researches about the jazz age. Thus it can be seen, reader’s background is also crucial when responding to this literary texts. The writer’s main target audiences are women, who have different desires and needs than men. The meaning of the text often competes when we have a better understanding of our self-identities. We interpret the text based on our own psyches, experiences, and judgments. Literature, are like music, without interaction with its audiences, no profound meaning would be
It is a game of the half loaf. In baseball, as in democracy, no one gets everything they want. Essentially all 30 teams go to Spring Training knowing they are going to win 60 games and lose 60 games. They play the long season to sort out the other 42 games. And every team also knows if it wins only 10 out of every 20 games, it is obviously mediocre. But if it wins 11 out of every 20 games, it will win almost 90 games and have a good chance of playing in the post-season. Which is why in baseball, as in the life of a competitive free society, little differences, ultimately, make an enormous difference. Baseball also is, as America is, both about individualism and cooperation. The heart of the game is the one-on-one battle between the batter and the pitcher. But baseball also requires teamwork, on offense, to move runners another 90 feet and on defense, to make 27
Theme of Love in Joyce’s Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Ulysses
To me, Ulysses was a necessary evil, in that I thought that I would not be able to call myself a literature student unless I had read the entire novel. While my journey through Ulysses was laden with moments of bewilderment, exasperation, and self-pity, I was able to power my way through the novel with a deeper appreciation for the way James Joyce was able to create a linear story told through a series of non-linear writing styles. In retrospect, the grueling challenge of reading Ulysses made me a better student, in that I was able to grow as a reader by adjusting myself to Joyce’s train-of-thought writing style, and that I could add Ulysses to my personal canon of academic literature.