Ulysses by James Joyce

Ulysses by James Joyce

Ulysses was published in 1922. It contains eighteen episodes. The following quotes are from the first two episodes, mostly about Jews.

Of course I’m a Britisher, Haines’s voice said, and I feel as one. I don’t want to see my country fall into the hands of German jews either. That’s our national problem, I’m afraid, just now. (P. 37)

You don’t know yet what money is. Money is power. (P. 53)

Mark my words, Mr Dedalus, he said. England is in the hands of the jews. In all the highest places: her finance, her press. And they are the signs of a nation’s decay. Wherever they gather they eat up the nation’s vital strength. I have seen it coming these years. As sure as we are standing here the jew merchants are already at their work of destruction. Old England is dying. (P. 59)

—I just wanted to say, he said. Ireland, they say, has the honour of being the only country which never persecuted the jews. Do you know that? No. And do you know why? He frowned sternly on the bright air. —Why, sir? Stephen asked, beginning to smile. —Because she never let them in, Mr Deasy said solemnly. (P. 64)

After the first two episodes, there are a lot of stream of consciousness. If I am a programmer, I will be interested in a lot of printouts in debugging. But if I am an average user, the last thing I want to read is infinite lines of printouts of program executions. I am an average reader. I have little interest in stream of consciousness. I can understand why Ulysses is routinely ranked as the number one book in literature. If you read and debug computer programs, you are a pro. If you read and discuss Ulysses, you are a pro.