Surface and Symbol: The Consistency of James Joyce's Ulysses

The interpretation of James Joyce's 'Ulysses' has been going on now for nearly forty years;few novels have been questioned so deeply, so persistently, and on so impressive a range of topics. And yet, as any reader of the novel knows, the danger of losing one's way in the obscurities of Joyce's prose, the intricacies of his references, remains as great as ever. How ought we to read 'Ulysses'? Should we pick our way slowly, passing over not even the slightest detail for fear of denying ourselves the richness of the novel, or push doggedly forward, holding to the main scheme and leaving the difficult loose ends for those with more erudition — and patience? What in short is the most economical and yet rewarding way to approach the book? "Mr. Adams attempts an answer to such questions by investigating the consistency, that is, the texture, of 'Ulysses. By identifying some of the raw materials taken from turn-of-the-century Dublin public records, newspapers, reminiscences, and other sources, and then comparing these originals with the finished text, he is able to define some of the ways in which the book was put together. As mr. Adams observes, once the reader knows the basic materials Joyce started with, and has some idea of the quality of Joyce's mind, he can at least begin to separate the surface from the symbols — the things which were put into the novel because they were social history, local color, or municipal detail, from the things which represent abstract concepts of special import to the novel. "Having examined the transformations which these raw materials underwent in the mind of Joyce, Mr. Adams discusses the author's intent in the work and proposes what he thinks is the best way to read 'Ulysses'. When we know that many of Joyce's puzzles have merely private answers, or none at all, we are in position to see how the book works, by deliberately frustrating the reader's conscious mind, to release a passionate and visionary perception of earth's sacramental vulgarity. Readers who have been confused by previous elaborate, wire-drawn symbolic systems, and readers who have simply been confused by 'Ulysses' itself, will find 'Surface and Symbol'' a welcome guide to the great labyrinth. View Less