The idea Ulysses reinforced in me is that anything, from shaving in the morning to looking for a place to relieve oneself, if perceived properly, is beautiful,

The idea Ulysses reinforced in me is that anything, from shaving in the morning to looking for a place to relieve oneself, if perceived properly, is beautiful, or funny, or tragic. It becomes significant to the extent we consider it. Or, humorously: https://xkcd.com/915/ https://xkcd.com/915/ Perhaps I was peculiarly ready to read the book because of my Catholic intellectual family, and an education that included reading Edith Hamilton and a reasonable translation of the Odyssey. When I was nine, I learned to love challenging language and imagining alien culture as I devoured the complete Sherlock Holmes. I'm sure Ulysses contains many allusions I missed entirely, but perhaps not too much. I read much more slowly than some smart folks I know, but part of that is hearing the sound of the words in my head while I imagine what perceptions and beliefs the speaker is responding to (which will never be exactly the reality in which they are fictitiously or actually embeded).