Episode 10 - Wandering Rocks
  1. With episode 10 we begin by leaving Bloom and Stephen Dedalus and follow the “very reverend” Father Conmee as he walks through Dublin.  Why this change in perspective at this point in the narrative?  How does it disrupt our reading?  Is this disruption effective?
  2. What is the narrative’s attitude toward Catholicism, as it is demonstrated through its treatment of Father Conmee?  Does Father Conmee seem sympathetic to the plight of the Dubliners whom he meets and passes?  Does he seem to understand their problems and concerns?
  3. In this episode, we get to enter into the Dedalus family home.  What are the conditions of the Stephen’s brothers and sisters who are left at home, now that their mother is dead?  How does this add to or detract from our perceptions about Simon Dedalus?  About their older brother Stephen who has seemingly abandoned the family?
  4. What is the overall sense that we get about life in Dublin in this episode?  Is this Dublin a place you’d want to live?  Why/why not?  What are people’s lives like?  Are people happy?  Do they lead comfortable lives?  What responsibility lies with the Catholic Church for the way people live?  What responsibility lies with England for colonizing Ireland?  What responsibility lies with the Irish people themselves?
  5. Why include the passage that describes Paddy Dignam’s young son and his reaction to his father’s death?  Why does Dignam’s death keep coming up throughout the day?  What is its significance?  And what significance is there to how his son tries to understand the death through the teachings he learns from his Catholic upbringing?

Episode 11 - Sirens
  1. Consider the opening passage of the episode.  How does the language mimic an orchestra tuning up?  Is this a sensible beginning?  How does this stylistic choice relate to the corresponding episode in Homer’s Odyssey?  Is Joyce showing off or is something else going on here or is it a little of both?  Why/why not?
  2. As the novel continues to this point, Bloom thinks more and more about Molly’s meeting with Boylan, but those thoughts are also juxtaposed with him thinking about “the sweets of sin” and his interest in the women at the Ormond.  In addition, he writes back to Martha Clifford.  Is Bloom just a jealous husband, or does he have reason to worry?  And is he blameless?  Why/why not?
  3. What do you make of the character Blazes Boylan?  Is he attractive?  Is there any significance in his name?  Do we like him or dislike him?  What do we make of the fact that Bloom sees him and does nothing?
  4. What additional background do we get about the Blooms’ marriage and past in this episode?  Is it significant?  How does this affect our perception of Bloom?  Of Molly?
  5. What do you make of the fact that Joyce ends this “musical” episode with a fart?  Is that a joke?  A commentary on taking the book too seriously?  Or is it a more political statement?  And how does the end of the episode resemble/not resemble the beginning?  Does it, ultimately, matter?

Episode 12 - Cyclops
  1. Consider the style of this episode.  What is the language like?  How does the language of the episode affect how we see the characters of the episode?  Is it pleasant to read?  Unpleasant?  Why/why not?
  2. The “organ” of this episode is muscle, and this is in many respects the most violent of the episodes of the novel – it even includes a brawl.  Additionally, in contrast to Sirens before it in which we seemed to enter a feminine world, this world seems decidedly masculine.  What is the effect of this on our reading?  What do you make of this shift?
  3. How does this episode represent politics?  Are the political viewpoints expressed well thought out?  And why do the men dismiss Bloom’s comments?  What does this have to do with his Jewishness?  Is this fair?  Why/why not?
  4. What is the relationship between the politics of Ireland, colonialism, and the fact that Ireland is a Catholic country?  How do the interests of the Irish people, the English, and the Catholic Church intersect?  How do they work against one another?  Is there any true political solution to “the Irish problem” or is the only solution violence?  What do the men in the episode think?  Does the narrative support their views or does it treat them ironically or with disdain?
  5. What do you make of the dog Garry, a “bloody mongrel” according to the narrative?  Is he symbolic of something?  Does his description relate at all to the way the men in the episode are portrayed?  How is he like/unlike the Citizen?