Tyler Crandall
ENG 398
Professor Dunne
3/6/15
Homeric Parallels in “Sirens”
It is an inherent part of reading Ulysses to at least notice a few and recognize some of the parallels between itself and The Odyssey. Both are extremely different epics plot wise, however it is possible to uncover some of the similarities that Joyce may have been hinting at throughout. One of the best episodes to do this with is “Sirens”, where Leopold Bloom is spending his time at a bar and still has not fully come to grips with the idea of his wife’s extramarital affair with Blazes Boylan. It is an episode that has musical themes sprinkled throughout and even when read has the tempo of music, but the main theme is the idea of the “Sirens”, and who as well as what…show more content… However, he still feels he must hear them sing and does not decide to put beeswax is his ears like the rest of his crew. The song of the sirens is beautiful to Odysseus, but he knows it is also a distraction to him on his journey home, and does not submit fully to them. In the Odyssey it is clear what Odysseus’s path is and he wants nothing more than to come home to Ithaca and see Penelope. For Bloom it is a little more complicated. He too has been away from home for the majority of the story, but he does not necessarily want to return home yet because of the impending affair his wife is about to have with Blazes Boylan. Odysseus is also unsure of his wife’s fidelity, but he still wants to return nonetheless and does not have the evidence that Bloom does. For Odysseus, the Sirens take his mind off of the fact that he has been gone from his family for so long and what might happen when he returns, he has all the chances to succumb to them but does not. In this episode, we see Bloom being distracted by many things as well, possibly to take his mind off of home for the moment as