Anthropomorphism and other figures of speech in James Joyce's "Ulysses"

This close reading from 'Proteus' shows how Stephen, the would-be writer, projects his mind onto the Dublin landscape. Analysing his anthropomorphism helps explain subjective transformations of the objective world in the modern hero's mind. Figures of speech which trap the poet's consciousness are examined in their philosophical context. Stephen's difficulty in crossing the waste land symbolizes the attempt to reach meaning in language and Joyce, while seeming to guide us, in fact deconstructs (invalidates) our interpretative endeavours.