A Review of James Joyces Novel Ulysses

Ulysses by  James Joyce holds a very special place in the history of English literature. The novel is one of the greatest masterpieces of modernist literature. But, Ulysses is also sometimes seen as so experimental that it is completely unreadable. Ulysses records events in the lives of two central characters--Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus--on a single day in Dublin. With its depth and complexities, Ulysses completely changed our understanding of literature and language. Ulysses is endlessly inventive, and labyrinthine in its construction. The novel is both a mythical adventure of the every day and a stunning portrait of internal psychological processes--rendered through high art. Brilliant and sparkling, the novel is difficult to read but offers rewards tenfold the effort and attention that willing readers give it. Overview The novel is as difficult to summarize as it is difficult to read, but it has a remarkably simple story. Ulysses follows one day in Dublin in 1904--tracing the paths of two characters: a middle-aged Jewish man by the name of Leopold Bloom and a young intellectual, Stephen Daedalus. Bloom goes through his day with the full awareness that his wife, Molly, is probably receiving her lover at their home (as part of an ongoing affair). He buys some liver, attends a funeral and, watches a young girl on a beach. Daedalus passes from a newspaper office, expounds a theory of Shakespeares Hamlet in a public library and visits a maternity ward--where his journey becomes intertwined with Blooms, as he invites Bloom to go along with some of his companions on a drunken spree. They end up at a notorious brothel, where Daedalus suddenly becomes angry because he believes the ghost of his mother is visiting him. He uses his cane to knock out a light and gets into a fight--only to be knocked out himself. Bloom revives him and takes him back to his house, where they sit and talk, drinking coffee into the wee hours. In the final chapter, Bloom slips back into bed with his wife, Molly. We get a final monologue from her point of view. The string of words is famous, as it is entirely devoid of any punctuation. The words just flow as one long, full thought. Telling the Story Of course, the summary doesnt tell you a whole lot about what the book is really all about. The greatest strength of Ulysses is the manner in which it is told. Joyces startling stream-of-consciousness offers a unique perspective on the events of the day; we see the occurrences from the interior perspective of Bloom, Daedalus, and Molly. But Joyce also expands upon the concept of stream of consciousness. His work is an experiment, where he widely and wildly plays with narrative techniques. Some chapters concentrate on a phonic representation of its events; some are mock-historical; one chapter is told in epigrammatic form; another is laid out like a drama. In these flights of style, Joyce directs the story from numerous linguistic as well as psychological points of view.With his revolutionary style, Joyce shakes the foundations of literary realism. After all, arent there a multiplicity of ways to tell a story? Which way is the right way? Can we fix on any one truthful way to approach the world? The Structure The literary experimentation is also wedded to a formal structure that is consciously linked to the mythical journey recounted in Homers Odyssey (Ulysses is the Roman name of that poems central character). The journey of the day is given a mythical resonance, as Joyce mapped the events of the novel to episodes that occur in the Odyssey. Ulysses is often published with a table of parallels between the novel and the classical poem; and, the scheme also offers insight into Joyces experimental use of the literary form, as well as some understanding of how much planning and concentration went into the construction of Ulysses. Intoxicating, powerful, often incredibly disconcerting,  Ulysses is probably the zenith of modernisms experimentation with what can be created through language. Ulysses is a tour de force by a truly great writer and a challenge for completeness in the understanding of language that few could match. The novel is Brilliant and taxing. But, Ulysses very much deserves its place in the pantheon of truly great works of art.

The Bakke Vs. The Regents Of University Of California

The Bakke Vs. The Regents of University of California case is one of the most well known supreme court cases in America dealing with the topic of affirmative action. Stated by Eastland, â€Å"affirmative action policies are those in which an institution or organization actively engages in efforts to improve opportunities for historically excluded groups in American society† (10). In 1978, the plaintiff Bakke filed a suit against the University of California, claiming that his rejection from the school was a result of racial discrimination and that it violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the equal protection clause of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, and the California Constitution (Posner 171). The U.S Supreme court ruled that affirmative action was constitutional, but not the use of racial quotas. The significance of this case is that it dealt directly with two major theories prevalent to minorities and race: Their assimilation into the university setting us ing affirmative action, and also the systemic racism that these groups faced as well. More specifically however, the Bakke Vs. the Regents of University of California case can be explained by systemic racism more so than assimilation, because systemic racism was and still is in effect in these educational institutions. Even with the inclusion of programs such as affirmative action that are supposed to combat systemic racism and simplify assimilation, American institutions were built upon ideological processes thatShow MoreRelatedCivil Liberties And Civil Rights1329 Words   |  6 Pagesfriendly as in the United States. Allen Bakke personally experienced a Civil Rights violation. Bakke applied to enroll in the University of California Medical School twice and was rejected because of his race. The 1978 case, Regents v. Bakke, claimed that the University discriminated against him because he was a thirty-five-year-old white male. The case revealed that the University had their own policies to ensure a certain number of minorities were accepted. Bakke had been rejected even though his GPARead MoreWhat is Affirmitive Action?934 Words   |  4 Pagesnon-discrimination. Affirmative action is intended to promote the opportunities of defined minority groups within a society to give them equal access to that of the privileged majority population. This has become a problem when it comes to applying for jobs, a university, and any other entity. The term was first used in the United States in the Executive Order 10925 and was signed by President Kennedy in the early 1960’s. President Johnson signed the E xecutive Order 11246 in 1965 which required government employersRead MoreAffirmative Action and Higher Education Admissions Essay1664 Words   |  7 PagesSephardic Jew, posed the first legal challenge to affirmative action policies in university admissions. Though the case proved to be moot after being heard from the courts, as Washington Law School had already begun to rectify the affirmative action allegations prior to a decision being made – Defunis claimed that he had been passed over for admission by other unqualified minorities (Kaplin Lee, 2014). Though this university had begun its reconstruction of the affirmative action inclusion of the admissionRead MoreA Closer Look At The Fourteenth Amendment s Equal Protection Clause2421 Words   |  10 Pagesequal protection clause. Movements like Black Lives Matter have brought forth some of these issues happening today. The supreme court has made interpretations of the 14th amendment in cases like Plessy vs Ferguson, Br own vs the Board of Education, and even in when overturning the case Dred Scott vs Sanford. To better understand the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause we have to take a closer look at the interpretations made by the supreme court to see how it has shaped the United States. TheRead MoreAffirmative Action And The Civil Rights Movement Essay1512 Words   |  7 Pagesmeans to promote minority candidates. In the case of Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke, the plaintiff Alan Bakke tries to be admitted into the University of California at Davis Medical School. Despite being a profoundly adequate NASA engineer is refused admittance. Bakke was denied since the schools policy to accommodate 16 spots out of 100 for minority candidates (McBride, 2007). In acknowledgment to the objection presented by Bakke, the institution was bound to allow his applicationRead MoreAffirmative Action and Hosea Martin Essay688 Words   |  3 Pagesjust about everybody...got special consideration for one reason or another(220). He also makes reference to the right schools. If the right school means picking a white-Anglo Harvard graduate with a Ph. D. over an African- American University of Florida graduate holding the same degree then the distinction between the two candidates is obvious. People who want to succeed at the highest levels in our society work hard their entire lives to get into the rightschools. This givesRead MoreAffirmative Action And The Civil Rights Movement1568 Words   |  7 Pagesmeans to promote minority candidates. In the case of Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke, the plaintiff Alan Bakke tries to be admitted into the University of California at Davis Medical School. Despite being a profoundly adequate NASA engineer is refused admittance. Bakke was denied since the schools policy to accommodate 16 spots out of 100 for minority candidates (McBride, 2007). In acknowledgment to the objection presented by Bakke, the institution was bound to allow his applicationRead MoreAffirmative Action And Its Effect On Society Essay1639 Words   |  7 Pages especially to ethnicities who historically felt injustice.The famous U.S landmark case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), where Allan Bakke, a white man, was twice rejected to University of California Medical Schoo l at Davis, ruled that racial quotas â€Å"violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment†, however race can serve a part as one admission criteria. Today California has banned a raced based affirmative action along with seven other states (Proposition 209Read MoreThe Issue Of Affirmative Action Essay1667 Words   |  7 Pagesespecially to those ethnicity who were historically wronged.The famous U.S landmark case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), in which Allan Bakke, a white man, was twice rejected to University of California Medical School at Davis, ruled that racial quotas â€Å"violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment†, however race can serve a part as one of an admission criteria. Today California has banned a raced based affirmative action along with seven other states (PropositionRead MoreIs Affirmative Action in Higher Education Outdated?783 Words   |  3 Pages1978, the Court ruling in Regents of Universi ty of California v. Bakke defined the concept of reverse discrimination by holding that slots for medical school admissions could not be set aside for minorities, because it could result in admitting less qualified candidates based on racial quotas. In 2003, in Gratz v. Bollinger, the Court defined the concept of individualized consideration when it declared that an undergraduate affirmative action policy at the University of Michigan was unconstitutional

Preistleys main aim Essay Example For Students

Preistleys main aim Essay Birlings character does not develop at all through the play. At the end he is still just as mean and tight fisted as he was in the beginning. The only thing that concerns him about the tale of the poor girl is his humiliation at the hands of the public when the scandal is reported. He berates Eric, not because of what he did to the girl, but for adding to their problems. Birling is also incredibly insensitive. He cannot understand why the Inspector is surprised and disgusted when he tells them that he fired the girls. He just counts being cold hearted and mean as part of his job. He only cares about climbing the ladder, not whether anyone gets hurt while he does it. This attitude is one that Preistley dislikes the most and is the opposite of socialism. In conclusion, Birling is the opposite of everything that Preistley believes in and is the one that Preistley uses the most in showing that society is immoral. He is the classic capitalist who would have viewed Preistley as a crank and do-gooder. I think that the play-writ succeeds in his aim with Birling as by the end you view him as an evil, mean, industrialist. Mrs. Birling is the wife of Arthur Birling. Nearly as cruel and intolerant as her husband, she is very stubborn. Preistley uses her to show that it is not just men who are the barrier to the unification of society. Her view on the world, although she is mean and cruel, is through rose-tinted spectacles. She cannot imagine that Eric has been drinking at all, let alone heavily as this quote demonstrates Mrs. B. Eric? Oh Im afraid he may have had rather too much to drink tonight. We were having a little celebration here- Inspector Isnt he used to drinking? Mrs. B. No, of course not. Hes only a boy. This quote also shows Mrs. Birlings reluctance to treat her offspring as equals. Right the way the play she treats them as if they are both very small children. This fact also shows her similarity to her husband. When it emerges that she had spoken to the dead girl two weeks ago and she had, in effect, killed her, she still shows no remorse and believes she did the right thing because the girls plight sounded ridiculous to me. Her crime in relation to Eva Smith is possibly the worst. Mrs Birling is the one that had the chance to save her from her awfully premature demise and she chose to let it go because she was so pompous. She believes that a girl of a subordinate class could not have high enough morals to stop accepting stolen money. As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money! This woman is also absurdly short sighted. She is incapable of imagining that her son could have had a relationship with this girl. With this character Preistley fulfils his aim very well indeed. The character is beautifully written and you really do get a sense of how mean and pompous she is. Her treatment of her children, the Inspector, Gerald and her husband all exemplify the things that Preistley hated about his society.