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The End Lies in Zurich

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Much of these past posts have reflected on the representation of food in literature alongside discussing the effect of Joyce’s provocative narratives. From the short stories of the Dubliners to the childhood delights of Christmas in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, he astonishingly manages to immerse us in worlds which see food as both an essential and experimental part of life. However to end our journey, this post will focus less on Joyce’s elongated narratives, driving towards how he creates similar complexities in his work through alternative literary styles. Of course, this indicates a much needed reflection on Joyce’s poetry. First published in 1948, The Essential James Joyce contains a selection of the writer’s most prolific works, discussing all matter of subjections; anything from mythology to Charles Stewart Parnell and most importantly, food. It is from the smallest phrases that Joyce manages to present a such a vast selection of interpretations. One of the most si
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Stephen’s Sailin’ Home for Christmas

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Eton College. Durham School. Westminster School. The names of the most prestigious boarding schools in the United Kingdom. With crests possessing strong figures of wildlife and a motto usually inscribed in Latin, these schools represent the pinnacle of British education. In fact, nineteen of the previous British prime ministers have attended Eton. Yet despite the pomp and circumstances that encompasses attending one of these schools, many people have spoken out against these institutions. With the likes of Bear Grylls, Dominic West and Damien Lewis voicing their worries concerning both their fellow peers and the institutions, a common theme that combined their related experiences was a lack of identity. Sadly, for poor little Stephen Dedalus, this was also the case. Along with the feeling of isolation from the rest of his peers, Stephen’s absence of self was ingrained in his homesickness. Getting the better of him regularly, his mind would often drift toward thoughts of life at home.
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Cinderella, Eat Your Heart Out

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Life can suck sometimes. The monotony of day to day life has the potential to send any rational human being insane. And it appears as if society is outwardly rebelling against this. For example, in the western world, the selection of careers available to the general public is so vast that the potential to change your lifestyle can be an instant one. A new generation are saying hello to a world of entrepreneurship, waving goodbye to the tedious nature of the life long career, longing for your state pension.    But one hundred years ago, this was not the case. People longed for the security that was brought with a stable job. One of the most popular jobs was that of a maid. More than that, it looks as if James Joyce even has a story about one. What can this man not do! In his short story “Clay”, Joyce tells the tale of a maid Maria, who is excited at the prospect of spending Halloween with her former foster child and her family. You must be wondering by now what any of this has to
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For Whom the Pub Calls

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“The dark damp night was coming and he longed to spend it in the bars, drinking with his friends…” (99). Now, as I’m sitting in my university library on a Wednesday afternoon, it would be fair to assume that a significant amount of the students in here can relate to this guy’s feelings. After a day of lectures and writing essays, most students destress with an alcohol infused night of dancing and reckless behaviour. And it appears as if the man in James Joyce’s short story “Counterparts” is thinking about doing exactly the same thing (minus the dancing). After a long day behind the typewriter, the realisation that he still has fourteen pages of work to complete sends Farrington into a trance, longing for a night of drinking that couldn’t come a minute sooner. The moment finally arrives, and Farrington relocates to Davy Byrne’s pub (I wonder where we’ve heard of this place before). As he enters, familiar faces appear in their regular areas of the public house. Noticing Nosey Flyn
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Bloom's Clarity

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What comes to mind when you think of the date 16 th June. Not much right? On the surface, it’s just an ordinary day in the calendar year. People go about their business as they do every day. The surface reveals very little to the uninformed. But to James Joyce, it represents a momentous change in his life. For it was on this day in 1904 that Joyce spent his first outing with his soon to be wife Nora Barnacle. The pair wondered hand in hand through the streets of Dublin, eventually relocating to a park in the suburb Ringsend where Nora began to masturbate Joyce. Ahhh such is the trance of young love. The profoundness of this day did not escape the writer, who went on to base his epic novel Ulysses on the same day. Written through the perspective of Mr Leopold Bloom, Joyce explores Dublin from the viewpoint of a Jewish advertisement canvasser in his daily activities. Not exactly the most enthralling plot to a novel, is it? But mundane and boring, it is certainly not. Ulysses represen
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