A masterwork of modernist literature, "Ulysses records the events of a single day, June 16, 1904, in Dublin. Ireland. Joyce used the structure of Homer's epic "The Odyssey as a contrast to the lives of the Dublin working class. Like the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, "Ulysses contains leitmotifs of vanity and the uselessness of pursuit. "Ulysses follows two characters, Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom through a day in Dublin, Ireland. The men participate in and observe human activities, many base and obscene, and respond with their own emotions, thoughts, and memories. Through these observations Joyce contrasts subjects such as religiosity vs. irreligiosity; realism vs. sentimentality; and pessimism vs. optimism. Each extreme has an extreme opposite. "Ulysses was banned in the United States until 1933.
