Ulysses - Impossible to Understand?
There were a few things that I didn’t realize when I started reading Ulysses , and if I had known them I think I would have prepared differently to read it. The first is that one of the main characters in the novel, Stephen Dedalus, is the same Stephen that appeared in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man . The second is that the storyline is meant to mimic that of The Odyssey by Homer. I think it would have been more productive (but not entirely necessary) to have re-read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man , as well as reading The Odyssey (or at least becoming more familiar with it), prior to reading Ulysses . To be completely honest, this book has intimidated me since the first time I heard about it. When I was a teenager I remember one of my English teachers telling me that Ulysses is one of the most difficult books to understand in literature. So of course I went straight to the library and checked it out. I didn’t get past the first few pages before giving up, and returned it to the library unread. So when my husband suggested that we read and discuss Ulysses together, I already knew I was going to need some outside help if I was going to attempt it again. I started by reading the first section of the book (Telemachus) in the graphic novel format online .
Original post Ulysses - Impossible to Understand?
