United States v. One Book Called Ulysses

Anyone who claims to have an interest in the English language, ought to be familiar with the bard of the 21^st century, a one James Joyce. But, it may surprise some to learn that Ulysses almost didn’t make it to America. In fact, it was banned for obscenity before successfully appealing and lifting the ban. The U.S district attorney’s office summoned the Tariff Act of 1930 to justify their ban on the grounds that Ulysses is a “literary masterpiece but obscene and unfit to be read by American readers.”

Why is James Joyce so Good?

Well, to start, he is considered the best author of the 21^st century and accredited for inventing the stream of conscious technique. What’s more, James Joyce’s mangus opus, Ulysses, contains more than 30,000 words, the entire Shakespearean cannon contains 29,168, previously the largest documented vocabulary known to man. Secondly, reading Ulysses will make you smarter. He intended his book to be an encyclopedia amongst other things. By having a computer nearby, I was able to learn the fundamentals of classic Latin, the forgotten world of Irish history, and a detailed account of Nietzsche, Heidegger, the entire Shakespearean cannon, and the theological concepts of St. Thomas Aquinas, while reading Ulysses.  What’s more, James Joyce ultimately believed in the affirmation of life. At the end of Ulysses, a book that covers a single day in vivid, painstaking detail, readers are left with the word “yes” swirling in their consciousness.

Famous James Joyce Lines

Aside from the other things I mentioned above, James Joyce has contributed some of the most innovative, profound, and downright beautiful lines in literature. For instance:

“Shakespeare is the happy hunting ground of all minds that have lost their balance.”

“The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit.”

“It is as painful perhaps to be awakened from a vision as to be born.”

These are just a few of the remarkable contributions to literature offered by James Joyce. Anyone who fancies themselves a wordsmith, or a commander of the English language, ought to be familiar with James Joyce and learn from the modern world’s Shakespeare.