Essay on "James Joyce Ulysses: Chapter 5 Analysis"

Essay 4 pages (1327 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

James Joyce ULYSSES, Chapter Five Analysis

Analysis of the mythical motifs in "The Lotus Eaters," Episode 5 of James Joyce's Ulysses

The incident involving the lotus-eaters in Homer's Odyssey is often cited as an example of Odysseus' moral superiority, in regards to other mortals. Homer tells the story of how Odysseus' men, while desperately trying to sail home to Ithaca, accidently wander into the kingdom of a race of individuals whose lives are solely devoted to pleasures. Eating the lotus, a kind of drug, has made the inhabitants lose their initiative and drive to succeed. Odysseus has to force the members of his own crew who eat the lotus back onto the ship, otherwise they will forget their desire to go home and stay indefinitely. Even in this ancient work, there are shades of modern drug addiction: however, Odysseus' puritanical streak enables him to resist the lure of eating the lotus. Odysseus admits that men might be happy living like the lotus-eaters, but he does not believe such a life is fulfilling or good. In James Joyce's retelling of the Odysseus myth in the novel Ulysses, Joyce takes a more playful view of the allure of the lotus-eaters. Joyce takes satirical glee in some of the coarser delights of the modern world, such as tea-drinking, card-playing and gambling, although he seems less certain than Homer that there is a higher purpose in life, an Ithaca for which those trivial pleasures should be abandoned.

In James Joyce's transposing of the narratives and themes of the Odyssey into his contemporary Dublin, the middle-aged protagonist Leopold Bloom's first 'lotus' in Episode 5, called "The Lotus Eaters" is found at the Belfast and Oriental Tea Company. Bloom's wanderings have taken him through the streets of Dublin, not across the world like the first Odysseus. One sip of the tea, although tea is a ubiquitous and humble beverage in Ireland and England, transports Bloom on a fantasy tour of the Far East islands in his mind. Unlike Odysseus, who does not approve of the stupor of the lotus-eaters, and views it as circumventing his goals, Bloom can appreciate the appeal of a lotus like tea because of his otherwise largely mundane and often unpleasant life. While drinking tea: "His right hand once more slowly went over again: choice blend, made of the finest Ceylon brands. The far east. Lovely spot it must be: the garden of the world, big lazy leaves to float about on, cactuses, flowery meads, snaky lianas they call them. Wonder is it like that. Those Cinghalese lobbing around in the sun, in dolce far niente. Not doing a hand's turn all day. Sleep six months out of twelve. Too hot to quarrel. Influence of the climate. Lethargy. Flowers of idleness. The air feeds most. Azotes. Hothouse in Botanic gardens. Sensitive plants. Waterlilies." This is a world full of sensuality, and very different from the ordinary world of Bloom, who subsides on earthy matter like sausages, and whose wife Molly is cheating on him, unlike the faithful Penelope of Odysseus. Bloom delights in the lotus eaters in a way that temporarily takes him away from his goal of home, where his wife waits, but home is not a pure place that stands in stark contrast to the island paradise.

Even the palliatives offered to Bloom, such as at the chemist's shop, lack the allure of the lotus. "Enough stuff here to chloroform you. Test: turns blue litmus paper red. Chloroform. Overdose of laudanum. Sleeping draughts. Lovephiltres. Paragoric poppysyrup bad for cough. Clogs the pores or the phlegm. Poisons the only cures. Remedy where you least expect it. Clever of nature." Modern life is filled with tawdry pleasures, like his wife's performances, the pleasures of the theater, or simply catching a glance of a pretty woman walking down the street.

The people of Joyce's Dublin often pass their time in idleness and pleasures that are not deeply fulfilling, like the Homeric lotus-eaters, but unlike the drugged… READ MORE

How to Reference "James Joyce Ulysses: Chapter 5 Analysis" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

James Joyce's Ulysses Term Paper

James Joyce's Ulysses -- Leopold Bloom, the modern Odysseus

Of what did the duumvirate deliberate during their itinerary?

Music, literature, Ireland, Dublin, Paris, friendship, woman, prostitution, diet, the influence of… read more

Term Paper 7 pages (2210 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Study of a Major Irish Author James Joyce Essay

Joyce

Gender plays a prominent role in the fiction of James Joyce, especially with regards to the protagonists' identity construction and deconstruction. As Sheldon puts it, "the action of Joycean… read more

Essay 6 pages (1906 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Eveline" Written by James Joyce Research Paper

Eveline" written by James Joyce and "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemmingway.

James Joyce's "Eveline"

Eveline is one of the short stories from James Joyce's short stories compilation, "The… read more

Research Paper 5 pages (1622 words) Sources: 8 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

James Joyce Dubliners Term Paper

James Joyce's Dubliners

Dubliners by James Joyce believe that in composing my chapter of moral history in exactly the way I have composed it I have taken the first step… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (3380 words) Sources: 6 Style: MLA Topic: Women / Feminism

---

James Joyce's "Araby Essay

James Joyce's "Araby,"

There is a definite sadness that rings throughout the vast majority of the passages in James Joyce's Araby, which details the romantic feelings of the narrator for… read more

Essay 3 pages (1045 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>