A Postcolonial Text as a Political Allegory: Joyce’s Ulysses
Seok-Moo Choi
An allegorical text contains a complete and self-sufficient narrative, but through a series of selected correspondences it can be also applied to another event or condition. In colonialist texts such as Robinson Crusoe, the Manichean allegory is introduced to express the indisputable distinction between the colonizer and the colonized. On the other hand, postcolonial writers in the colonized countries, who are prevented from expressing their views directly, appropriate the allegory to convey their political messages. Ulysses, a story about a colonial city, may be read as an allegory about the British domination of Ireland. In “Telemachus,” through the relationship of Stephen, Mulligan, Haines, and the Milkwoman, colonial history in Ireland is implicitly suggested with each person representing an allegorical role. “Sirens” demonstrates a process of allegorical colonization, expressed in terms of becoming immersed in drinking and music. Also, as a story of marital infidelity Ulysses evinces that sexual domination of Molly by Boylan is allegorically interconnected with political domination of Ireland by Britain. Daily life shown in Ulysses may not look meaningful enough to become the subject matter of a novel. When read from the perspective of political allegory, however, each character and his or her behavior are of great significance to the understanding of political situations and colonial discourses adopted for the benefit of the colonizer. As in the case of Ulysses, allegory is a useful technique to postcolonial writers like Joyce who, threatened by censorship, would still like to convey a political message of resistance. Therefore, Joyce’s use of political allegory in Ulysses is a covert textual method of analyzing and repudiating colonial past and thus pursuing a decolonized society.
A Postcolonial Text as a Political Allegory: Joyce’s Ulysses
Seok-Moo Choi
An allegorical text contains a complete and self-sufficient narrative, but through a series of selected correspondences it can be also applied to another event or condition. In colonialist texts such as Robinson Crusoe, the Manichean allegory is introduced to express the indisputable distinction between the colonizer and the colonized. On the other hand, postcolonial writers in the colonized countries, who are prevented from expressing their views directly, appropriate the allegory to convey their political messages. Ulysses, a story about a colonial city, may be read as an allegory about the British domination of Ireland. In “Telemachus,” through the relationship of Stephen, Mulligan, Haines, and the Milkwoman, colonial history in Ireland is implicitly suggested with each person representing an allegorical role. “Sirens” demonstrates a process of allegorical colonization, expressed in terms of becoming immersed in drinking and music. Also, as a story of marital infidelity Ulysses evinces that sexual domination of Molly by Boylan is allegorically interconnected with political domination of Ireland by Britain. Daily life shown in Ulysses may not look meaningful enough to become the subject matter of a novel. When read from the perspective of political allegory, however, each character and his or her behavior are of great significance to the understanding of political situations and colonial discourses adopted for the benefit of the colonizer. As in the case of Ulysses, allegory is a useful technique to postcolonial writers like Joyce who, threatened by censorship, would still like to convey a political message of resistance. Therefore, Joyce’s use of political allegory in Ulysses is a covert textual method of analyzing and repudiating colonial past and thus pursuing a decolonized society.