Line #11 YMMV/Ulysses

Context YMMV / Ulysses

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1	* CriticalDissonance: Regarded as one of the most important novels of the 20th Century by critics and literary scholars, but lots of general readers find it difficult to get through.
2	* EpilepticTrees: There are numerous fan theories about the identity of the mysterious man in the brown macintosh, and some of them are downright ''bizarre''. Some have suggested that he's {{God}}, {{Satan}}, {{the Grim Reaper}}, [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Hermes]], the ghost of Leopold's father, or possibly just one of the many minor characters mentioned in various other chapters. Creator/VladimirNabokov speculated that it's Creator/JamesJoyce making a CreatorCameo.
3	* EvenBetterSequel: Most literary critics consider it to be an even ''more'' impressive and vital work of literature than ''Literature/APortraitOfTheArtistAsAYoungMan'', which is a pretty acclaimed work in its own right. Opinions tend to vary a bit more among general audiences, who also generally find ''Ulysses'' a far more challenging read.
4	* HarsherInHindsight: At one point during the extended dream sequence in "Circe", Bloom is accused of sexual harassment by various female acquaintances in a [[KangarooCourt surreal courtroom sequence]]. After one woman shares her stories about his lecherous behavior, several other women jump up and shout [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement "Me too!"]] while brandishing dirty letters that he sent them.
5	* HilariousInHindsight:
6	** The unnamed narrator of "Cyclops", who hangs out with uber-patriotic Irish nationalists, likes to claim (perhaps [[SarcasmMode sarcastically]]) that every single important figure in human history (including [[BlatantLies Shakespeare, Dante, and Benjamin Franklin]]) was actually an Irishman. Not unlike a certain [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Russian Starfleet officer]].
7	** Zero Mostel played Leopold Bloom in ''Ulysses in Nighttown'', a stage play based on "Circe". He later went on to star in Creator/MelBrooks' ''Film/TheProducers'' opposite ''another'' character named "Leo Bloom".
8	** Special mentions for Proteus, Oxen of the Sun, and Penelope. ''Dear God'', Penelope.
9	* ValuesResonance: The book was written in the early 1920s, but its frank portrayal of antisemitism and extreme Irish nationalism would seem a lot more timely in the wake of UsefulNotes/{{the Holocaust}} and the Irish Civil War in the ensuing years. Notably, the latter began just a few months after the book was published.
10	* TheWoobie: Bloom and Dedalus, though in different ways. With Stephen it's a bit more obvious if you've read ''Portrait of the Artist'', where he's about to launch himself on a literary career; here, he's tried it and it hasn't happened for him. Bloom has it bad too, between having a dead father and son, being a Jew in a casually anti-semitic society and generally seeming to most of the citizens as though he's not quite one of them.

Context YMMV / Ulysses