Joyce's Ulysses - Book Report/Review Example

An open assignment on Joyce's Ulysses The focal point of this paper is to present an evaluation and analysisof the aspects regarding the alignment with the epic Mahabharata in the book Ulysses by James Joyce. It is an interesting notion to regard Joyce's approach towards religion as he appears to be a rationalist most of his life. Yet he tends to exhale religious sentiments in this novel and that too constructing his novel in alignment with a religious text of the east. The Novel was published in 1922 by Sylvia Beach but it appeared as a series in The Little Review from 1918 to 1920. This thousand page novel consists of about 250000 words and the entire text is divided into 18 episodes. These are Telemachus, Nestor, Proteus, Calypso, Lotus-Eaters, Hades, Aeolus, Lestrygonians, Scylla and Charybdis, Wandering Rocks, Sirens, Cyclops, Nausica, Oxen of the Sun, Circe, Eumaeus, Ithaca and Penelope. This segmentation of eighteen episodes could be one coincidence or a well formulated approach because another such text contains similar number of episodes and it is The Mahabharata- the sacred text of the east. Could it be possible that Joyce structured his formulation of this novel on the episodically setting pattern of The Mahabharata Or maybe, it was one of his uncanny broad humors that are present all over the novel. It is possible that while keeping a direct resemblance with the Homer's epic he moved into the structural pattern of another epic. However, the main aspect is the religious aspect of the novel and one can only wonder about the presence of the sacred number eighteen while segregating episodes. (Lamb, 243-245) It is not that The Mahabharata was unknown to Joyce because it was Max Muller who introduced this epic to the west and it was very popular at the time Joyce wrote the novel Ulysses. The author simply could not have missed it. Thus it could be ascertained that he knew about the details of The Mahabharata and implemented the number eighteen while setting the novel episode wise. This was done for a reason. The reason behind this setting could be enumerated as a prelude to the religious overtones present in bits and pieces all over the novel. (Lamb, 256) This brings us close to the perspective of the author. The author started writing the novel during the 1918 or in other words the end of the First World War. This was a time when the world was going through a difficult phase after the horrors of the war. It could be mentioned in the initial stages that it was degeneration time. Imperialism had taken its tolls on the world, which was grilling on the last fires of the World War. The losses were too heavy, and the shocks, almost unbearable. People just lived through a test of the extent organized cruelty and purposeful ruthlessness could reach. As far as the future was concerned, the initial tremors of what would lead to a massive cross across the globe were being felt. In this context it would be relevant to mention that the generation was not finding their existence worth while or in other words they wanted more out of their life for they hardly knew what to believe. They were not able to keep complete faith in religion and neither could they abandon it completely. It was also a regeneration time. Ideological conflicts and military interests were shaking civilization right up to its foundations. The doubts, dilemmas and confusions were gradually, quite slowly indeed, giving way to a new and unique cultural revolution. It was happening all across the Western world. People suddenly seemed to realize that there was enough of political warfare to disgrace humanity. The prevailing standards suddenly seemed to be meaningless, and the insurgent youths wanted something different to happen. Joyce himself was penniless and walked the streets of Paris to get the most out of life. (Kar, 145) This period of post First World War was extremely similar to the period when the Mahabharata was composed around 1500 BC. There too the composition was developed after a long lasting bloodbath among brothers and a sense of nihilism and restlessness prevailed in the society. With conditions being similar Joyce must have been interested in the structural formulation of the epic and incorporated the sacred number eighteen as episodes even to the limit that the fundamental inflow of mood remains the same in both the works. The episodes or purva of Mahabharata are called Adi, Sabha, Vanaparva, Virata, Udyoga, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Shalya, Sauptika, Anusasana, Stree, Shanti, Ashvamedhika, Ashramavasika, Mausala and Mahaprasthanika. (Border, ix) It would be highly interesting to find the similarities in format between these two texts; Ulysses and the Mahabharata. Episode 1, Telemachus can be depicted as an introductory part where the narrator Stephen Dedalus appears (Joyce, 11-28) much like the narrator of Mahabharata Valmiki in the Adi purva. Another striking similarity in this part is that Stephen Dedalus is known by the readers as he appeared in the text in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by the author published earlier. Similarly Valmiki was known to the ancient readers as the person of great skills who segregated the Vedas into four parts. (Border, xii) Similarly, Episode 2, Nestor is also aligned with Sabha Purva in the sense that here we find Stephen is entering his professional life where we find "Stephen's embarrassed hand moved over the shells heaped in the cold stone mortar: whelks and money, cowries and leopard shells: and this, whorled as an emir's turban, and this, the scallop of Saint James" (Joyce, 36) whereas the princes in the epic came to age with a statement that suggests that the "the prince Yudhirsthira was sixteen, it was his time, time to prove his ability, his skills". (Border, 99)Episode 3, Proteus too deals with different aspects of philosophies with statements like "Houses of decay, mine, his and all. Come out of them, Stephen. Beauty is not there.tonsured and oiled and gelded, fat with the fat of kidneys of wheat". (Joyce, 49) Vana does the same amidst several adventures. Here we find Valmiki suggesting Arjuna that "the achievement of life is through adventures, adventures that make you experienced and thus wiser". (Border, 189) Episode 4, Calypso presents the most important character of the novel, Leopold Bloom, though these opening lines "Mr. Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls" (Joyce, 69) and the novel follows him much like the appearance of Krishna in Virat, the central character of the epic with statement like "and there the great soul with peacock crest appeared". (Border, 213) In Episode 5, The Lotus Eaters, we find much of the impacts of Bloom whereas in the Udyoga we see Krishna to be the most important person to prevent the Great War. Episode 6, Hades, starts with the funeral dialogues of Bloom where we find him discussing death and the meaning of death with statement like "What's wrong with him He's dead, he said. And, faith, he filled up." (Joyce, 88) Similarly, Bhishma purva shows us that Krishna is instrumental in solacing Bhishma, the fallen hero, and asking him not to lament on life as death is just a change of the body by mentioning that "the skin is but a clothing, as the dress gets older the soul changes its attire, this is death, an obvious change, nothing more". (Border, 297) Here like Bloom Krishna enumerates the variables of death. Episode 7, Aeolus, Episode 8, The Lestrygonians, and Episode 9, Scylla and Charybdis all deals with the day to day conflict of the characters in a faster pace (Joyce, 127-258) much like the depiction of war in the purvas Drona, Karna and Shalya. But in the tenth purva the epic shifts from the alignment with Ulysses as it completes an entire phase by the elimination of the Kaurava brothers with direst statement like "and thus my Lord the evil brothers perished". (Border, 422) Episode 10, The Wandering Rocks, in sharp contrast is about the beginning of adventures. (Joyce, 259-288) But then again these to parts meet at a point that this is the junction where the basic tempo changes. Ulysses moves more towards adventures and the Mahabharata becomes more inclined towards search of the inner self. It could be thus mentioned that the similarities ends here though there are eight episodes or Purva left in both the texts. But the similarity still prevails though an opposing approach. We find Prince Yudhirsthira is becoming more subdued with the philosophical contexts of life and religion where he states that the "its on my life, on my heart, that the light is luminous as ever" (Border, 483) whereas the characters of Ulysses come alive and mode vibrant with their inbuilt confusions and Joyce presented this confusion in the context of religious dilemma of Bloom. The funny side of this approach was however different from the basic perception of the life styles were a confluence of conflicting philosophies. As it was mentioned earlier that the idea of materialism was at its had hitting best but alternatively the simplicities of eastern philosophies, specifically Indian philosophies, were highly acclaimed though it was concentrated within a certain group of people. As a result, the poets and the writers, as least a section of them, who took their inspirations from life and society it self, inclined themselves towards the approach of simplistic formations of art forms. In conclusion, it is curious to believe whether Joyce actually foresee the things to come of religion and made a basic humorous notion regarding the approach and existence of religion as a whole. It could also be possible that he in his own way protested against the racist approach of the time by making his protagonist skeptical about religion. (Fletcher, 188) At the same time faith in religion was there to confuse even more much like the ending episodes of the Mahabharata. Thus it could be well mentioned that the approach of both the texts are very well poised to each other and it could only be possible if only Joyce had formulated the entire structure of his novel in accordance to The Mahabharata. Reference: Border, G; The Mahabharata; (Alliance Publishers, 1998) pp 27 Fletcher, R; Beliefs and Knowledge: Believing and Knowing. (Howard & Price. 2006) pp 188 Kar, P; History of Mythology and related applications in Modern Context (Dasgupta & Chatterjee 2005) pp 145 Lamb, Davis; Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata. (Delhi: National Book Trust. 2004) pp 243-245 Joyce, James; Ulysses (Seagull Publishers, 1988) pp 11-288 Read More