Episode 4 - Calypso

1. The narrative spends a great deal of time describing the Blooms’ cat and Leopold Bloom’s attitude to the cat.  Why?  Why is this worth this much narrative energy?  Do you think this description of the cat holds greater significance to larger issues in the narrative?  Why/why not?  Also, what does the inclusion of all of this about the cat say about the function of literature and/or the arbitrariness of representation?
2. The episode begins with Leopold Bloom readying his wife’s breakfast, which he will bring her in bed, getting his own breakfast, and getting breakfast for the cat.  What did you make of this?  Is Bloom a “cuckold” or somehow feminized or emasculated by his wife?  What do you make of Molly and Leopold Bloom’s relationship?  Why?
3. What do you make of the representation of women in this episode?  Is this a misogynist text?  Why/why not?  Did you find anything disturbing about the way that women were represented or described, and if so, what disturbed you about it?  Why did you find it disturbing?  What did you think of Molly?  Of Milly, and the way that Bloom appeared to think of her as another version of Molly?
4. What similarities and differences do you notice between Bloom and Stephen?  Do you think there is any significance to these similarities/differences?  For example, what do you make of the description of Bloom defecating, and does it bear any relationship to the description of Stephen urinating in the previous episode?
5. Describe Leopold Bloom.  What does he look like?  About how old is he?  What is he wearing?  What is his personality like?  What are his anxieties?  Do you find him likeable?  Why/why not?

Episode 5 - The Lotus Eaters

1. What is the significance of Bloom’s pseudonym?  What about the fact that he keeps a post office box in order to have private correspondence with Martha Clifford?  What do you make of Martha’s letter?  Is Bloom “faithful” to Molly?
2. Is there any significance to the text’s emphasis on how records can be unfaithful to the truth?  Why might this be juxtaposed with Bloom’s meditations about his father/paternity?
3. Is Bloom a “feminine” character?  What traits associated with Bloom are commonly read as feminine?  Are there also masculine traits about Bloom?  What are they?
4. How does Bloom’s position as a Jew influence his interpretation of Catholicism?  How is Bloom’s take on Catholicism different from Stephen’s?  What do you make of the fact that Bloom attends mass (though not Catholic) and that Stephen does not (though Catholic)?
5. What is the significance of Bloom’s bath at the end of the episode?  How does Bloom’s fastidiousness and emphasis on cleanliness of his body differ from Stephen?  What is the connection between the mind and the body?  Is Bloom an intellectual?

Episode 6 - Hades

1. What is the character of Simon Dedalus like?  Do we like him?  Does Stephen “have his voice” in terms of the words he speaks or the things that preoccupy him?  How do people react to Simon Dedalus?  Is he like Stephen in any way?  In what ways is he unlike him?
2. What is the significance of Bloom’s father having committed suicide?  How does this fact recur in the episode and how does it affect our interpretation of Bloom or Bloom’s characterization in the text?
3. Is Molly Bloom faithful to her husband?  What is her reputation among the funeral-goers?  How does Bloom handle their innuendos about her?  Is Bloom a cuckold?  Why/why not?
4. What did Paddy Dignam die from?  Was his death sudden or was it expected?  Does he have any assets?  What family does he leave behind?  What is the economic situation of the Dignams once Paddy dies?  What was their situation before his death?  What is the narrative trying to say about Ireland and Irish masculinity by including this information?
5. What does Leopold Bloom do for a living?  Is this significant in any way?  Is he an “artist” or a great thinker?  Is he creative?  Does he have good ideas?  Compare Bloom’s mental processes in “Hades” with Stephen’s in “Proteus.”  What are the similarities and differences?  Which seems more like an “artist” to you?  Why/why not?

With Episode 6 the initial style of Ulysses ends.