Day 2

Oh boy. More nonsense on this page. What have I gotten myself into?

I am by no means a stupid person, but this book makes me feel like an imposter trying to dissect an alien language.

This first pargraph is more lore.

Once you get passed all the misspelling, it gets easier to read.

Another dick joke in the first paragraph. Page 3 talks about people in blackface, and page 4 talks about whiteboys fighting the haves and have nots with boomerangs. I have lots of theories here.

Is Joyce racist or reflecting the racism of the time? The story is set in a mystical Dublin so far. Why bring race into this? Curious. I'm not judging it yet. But I'm trying to make sense of it.

This page reminds me of the Lake of Innisfree by Yeats. The mood is right there. You can smell the moors.

We have now learned that Finnegan is a freemason and he is mentioned as a mason three ways in the paragraph, before the bible is brought up. I'm sure the two things are connected.

Books 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 of the bible are mentioned, though Leviticus is called Helviticus, either as a pun about Hell, or reference to a Gaelic tribe. Or both.

I am proud of myself for spotting this.

Ah. Finnegan is an alcoholic. "Pentschanjeuchy." Penchant for juice. And he hit his head in the tub. My guess? The entire book is going to be a fever dream from Finnegan's concussion.

He brings up the Woolworth building in New York City, which isn't the first reference to America. Is Finnegan from Dublin and now living in America, the same way Ulysses is set in London, but feels like Hell's Kitchen?

This page was an easier read, actually. But it starts poorly. I probably have a few more pages to go before it starts to make sense.