# II explained — Ulysses

> Chapter companion for Ulysses by James Joyce.

## What happens

Stephen Dedalus teaches a history lesson at Mr. Deasy's school, grappling with his own thoughts on history, memory, and identity. After the lesson, Mr. Deasy pays him and gives him a letter to publish, while making anti-Semitic remarks about Ireland never persecuting Jews because they were never let in.

## Themes in this chapter

### History and Memory

Stephen reflects on history as a 'nightmare from which I am trying to awake,' and the lesson explores the weight of historical events and personal memory.

### Identity and Selfhood

Stephen sees his own childhood in the struggling student Sargent, and grapples with his role as a teacher and his own sense of self.

### Fatherhood and Filial Relations

Stephen's thoughts about his own mother and his distant relationship with his past evoke themes of parental care and filial bonds.

## Character check-ins

### Stephen Dedalus

Teaches a history class, reflects on his own childhood and the nature of history, and receives payment from Mr. Deasy.

### Mr Deasy

The headmaster who pays Stephen, gives him a letter to publish, and makes anti-Semitic remarks.

### Sargent

A slow student who struggles with his sums, evoking Stephen's pity and memories of his own childhood.

### Armstrong

A student who gives a foolish answer about Pyrrhus, causing laughter in the class.

### Comyn

A student who eagerly asks to answer questions and requests a ghost story.

### Talbot

A student who recites lines from Milton's 'Lycidas' during the lesson.

## Key lines

> History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.

Stephen declares that history is a oppressive dream he struggles to escape.

_This line captures Stephen's view of history as a burdensome, inescapable force._

> Because she never let them in, Mr Deasy said solemnly.

Mr. Deasy claims Ireland never persecuted Jews because they were never allowed to enter the country.

_This anti-Semitic remark reveals Mr. Deasy's narrow-mindedness and the prejudices of the time._

> Amor matris: subjective and objective genitive.

Mother's love: both the love a mother feels and the love felt for a mother.

_Stephen reflects on the dual meaning of maternal love, linking it to his own childhood and the student Sargent._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ulysses_se/chapters