Hades: Thoughts and Questions

1) This episode is ingenious in terms of its parallels with The Odyssey. Look for such details as equivalents for the figures Odysseus meets in the underworld and for the rivers he crosses to get there. Note how Martin Cunningham relates to Sisyphus (6:349-51).

2) Bloom thinks about Boylan and then has the misfortune to see him (6:190-97). As before, he then gets asked about the concert tour (6:212-24). Note the tone of the men's questions.

3) You can get a sense of the other men's attitudes toward Bloom from the way they act when he starts to tell his story about Reuben J. Dodd (6:264-91) and from their talk about Molly when he is too far away to hear (6:690-706).

4) Remember Martin Cunningham from "Grace," and compare how he is presented here. Note how he reacts when the men start to talk about suicide (6:335-42 and 6:526-32).

5) Look at how the men talk about people's "hearts," and compare Bloom's reaction (6:672-82).

6) Note how Bloom reacts to the cemetery as he leaves it (6:995-96 and 6:1001-5).