Uprooted: James Joyce

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History in Bloom

And you’ve never read Ulysses one of the greatest books in literature it is not easy reading to be sure but you can get through it by also reading the CliffsNotes, James Joyce wrote it and he was born in Dublin in 1882 and educated at Jesuit schools including University College Dublin he is best known for his collection of short stories Dubliners and of course his two massive novels Ulysses and Finnegans Wake literary critics have praised his writing especially Ulysses which is considered the complex work of a genius Ulysses sparked a holiday in Ireland called Bloomsday and it is observed annually on June 16 to commemorate the events in the novel in 1999 the Modern Library ranked Ulysses first on its list of 100 best novels of the 20th century so if youve never read this book just start by telling yourself yes I said yes I will Yes.

1 What did Joyce’s father say when he heard that Joyce had run away with Nora Barnacle?

a. “Nora who?”

b. “She comes from a fine Galway family.”

c. “She’ll always stick with him.”

d. “Does she have a dowry?”

2 What were Joyce’s brothers named?

a. Stephen and Leopold

b. Buck and Blazes

c. Charles and Stanislaus

d. Finnegan and Seamus

3 While Joyce was in exile, which relative did he correspond with to get details about Dublin for Ulysses?

a. his mother’s brother’s wife

b. his second cousin once removed

c. his father

d. his mother

4 Joyce died Jan. 13, 1941. Where was he buried?

a. Dublin, Ohio

b. Dublin, Ireland

c. Grant’s Tomb

d. Zurich, Switzerland

5 Joyce’s father, John Stanislaus Joyce, grew up in

a. Baden, Germany

b. Cork, Ireland

c. Geneva, Switzerland

d. Okinawa, Japan

6 James Joyce was most afraid of

a. his mother

b. Catholic nuns

c. the parish priest, Father McFeeley

d. thunderstorms

7 Which repository holds the greatest mass of Joyce’s unpublished letters?

a. Trinity College Library, Dublin

b. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

c. University College, London

d. The National Archives of Ireland

8 Joyce was named after

a. his paternal grandfather

b. the parish priest

c. the king of England

d. the family cat

9 Joyce’s father-in-law, Thomas Barnacle, was a

a. fisherman

b. shipbuilder

c. baker

d. candlestick maker

10 How far did Joyce’s wife, Nora, get in reading Ulysses?

a. She never read it.

b. She read the whole book-couldn’t put it down.

c. She read 27 pages.

d. She read the CliffsNotes.

e. She waited for the movie to come out on DVD.

Answers

1. c. Joyce’s father, like Joyce, had a great sense of humor.

2. c.

3. a. Joyce’s aunt Josephine Murray was married to his maternal uncle William Murray.

4. d. In Fluntern Cemetery.

5. b.

6. d.

7. b. Joyce documents are scattered among many repositories in the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Europe, with major collections in US universities-which goes to show that papers of an ancestor, famous or not, can end up just about anywhere.

8. a. His paternal grandfather’s name was also James Joyce.

9. c. The Irish surname Barnacle supposedly derives from the “barnacle goose,” a large seabird that visits the coast of Ireland in winter.

10. c. Joyce wrote to his aunt Josephine, “Nora has got as far as page 27 counting the cover.”

Scoring

Number of correct answers:

8-10 Celebrity Savvy

6-7 Notably Knowledgeable

4-5 Star Crossed

0-3 Infamously Ignorant

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