The Citizen (character)

The Citizen is a fictional character in James Joyce's novel Ulysses. He is an old Irish nationalist with xenophobic and anti-semitic views who engages in an argument with Leopold Bloom in Barney Kiernan's pub, ultimately throwing a biscuit tin at Bloom.

"The Citizen" is an important figure in the "Cyclops" episode of the novel. The character has been described as having characteristics not only of the mythological Cyclops but also of the Irish epic figure Finn McCool.[1] "The Citizen" is, in part, a satirical portrait of Irish nationalist (and Gaelic Athletic Association founder) Michael Cusack[2] and Joyce's portrayal operates to expose what one critic called the "xenophobic ideologies of radical Celticists".[3]

Sources

  1. ↑ Maureen Waters, The Comic Irishman (SUNY Press, 1984), ISBN 978-0873957663, pp. 97ff. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  2. ↑ Sen Moran, "Cusack's creation is a blooming legacy", The Irish Times, June 16, 2004  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) .
  3. ↑ Vincent J. Cheng, Joyce, Race, and Empire (Cambridge University Press, 1995), ISBN 978-0521478595, pp. 198ff. Excerpts available at Google Books.