On the modernist elements of ‘Ithaca’ chapter in Joyce’s Ulysses: Engaging students in class discussion

James Joyce's Ulysses is one of the hall-marks of modernism in the realm of the novel. In this novel, Joyce breaks away from old patterns, employs new techniques, and presents the modern state of man as well as his soul-lacking indeterminate communication with others. Freud's theories on the unique and private quality of man's mode of consciousness and the meddling of the past with present, stressed the twentieth-century man's ill-condition and his position among his fellow beings. Joyce portrays the modern man in his favorite chapter, ‘Ithaca,’ which has certain features that make the narrative structure in complete step with Joyce's themes regarding the modern man. This paper is an attempt to show how the human race is perceived by Joyce, revealing how the employed elements depict a modern picture of the modern man. This chapter contains many questions and answers that can be discussed in class and students can be engaged in novel-based dialogues and class discussion as an EFL practice.