Undergraduate Review

Volume 1 Article 7

2004 Forging the Unborn Humor of My Race: Comic Patriarchy in Ulysses and The nS apper Robert J. Cannata

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Recommended Citation Cannata, Robert J. (2004). Forging the Unborn Humor of My Race: Comic Patriarchy in Ulysses and The nS apper. Undergraduate Review, 1, 11-15. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/undergrad_rev/vol1/iss1/7

This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Copyright © 2004 Robert J. Cannata Forging the Unborn Humor of My Race: Comic Patriarchy in Ulysses and The Snapper

by Rob Cannata

ames Joyce's Ulysses delves deeply into the father-son Jrelationship, ruthlessly probing its political, religious, and social aspects. Fatherhood is often revered, but Ulyss­ es, in its ever-undulating methodology, parodies the august, "majestic" position of the patriarch. Alongside poignant Rob Cannata, from East Free­ observations about the spirit of fatherhood in Irish culture, town, MA, is a junior and an a keen mockery of this same spirit exists. In the trials of English major with a concentra­ critical history, Joyce's more serious musings have been tion in Writing. He is also one dwelt upon, while the mine of humorous observation and ofthe student editors ofthis mockery of fatherhood in Ulysses has been relatively unex­ journal, but reminds you that plored. Thus, the seriocomic dualism of Irish fatherhood is no corruption was involved and often missed in Joyce, as well as in other Irish writers. that he did, infact, pass through One such writer is Roddy Doyle, whose Jimmy the same content screening as everyone else. He wrote this Rabbitte Sr., father figure of The Snapper, is a walk- paper in Garland Kimmer's Fall ing parody and in some ways a contemporary version of 2004 Irish Literature II class. He Joyce's Leopold Bloom. Unfortunately, much as Joyce presented it at the 2004 NCUR criticism dwells too heavily on the serious and contempla­ and will be presenting it at the tive, Doyle criticism often focuses on the light-hearted and 2004 National Collegiate Honors comic. Again, the seriocomic duality is missed. In Doyle's Council National Conference. case, the misjudgment of tone comes about because crit­ ics are too well acclimated to the "stage Irishman" stereo­ type, which Jimmy seems to mimic. A drunken, boisterous 12 The Undergraduate Review

fellow with a witty tongue and a lack of (Doyle 163). personal responsibility, the stage Irishman While authoritative in a loud, de­ is often employed as a farcical comic gag in manding sense, Rabbitte's sense of humor English and American literature: examples makes the audience accept crudity as his range from the befuddled minor character defining trait, as well as the defining trait of Pat in Fanny Fern's Ruth Hall to the manic, his social class. Taken out of the context of half-crazed Stephen in the movie Brave­ the novel, Rabbitte seems to be a flat, though heart. In both Joyce and Doyle, however, entertaining personality. Many readers take there is a deeper element to the concept of Jimmy at face value. One review of Doyle's the Irish father that is often overlooked. The Snapper reads, "Many have argued There exists a duality in the Irish that the series portrayed the working-class portrayal of the father figure in which he can Irish as foul-mouthed, illiterate alcoholics be both a character of comedy and drama at and fostered negative cultural stereotypes" the same time. This duality is often lost due ("Roddy Doyle 1958-"). to the stereotypical perception of the stage Doyle could have easily settled for Irishman. While the stage Irishman is not an uproariously funny story with a charac­ necessarily a father figure, the image of a ter like Jimmy, but Jimmy's deeper, quieter drunk, irresponsible Irish father is familiar qualities gradually unfold through the course enough in the common imagination that the of the book. In many ways, Jimmy realizes stereotypes are often interchangeable. Both that he is playing the role of a stubborn, the roots of the Irish fatherhood stereotype­ irresponsible Irishman to his own family -and the authors' character development during a family in the novel. His daughter beyond it--is displayed in these two novels, Sharon is as stubborn as he and refuses to providing a more sophisticated, more honest acknowledge the stress she brings to the take on a laughable stereotype and its deeper Rabbitte family when she becomes illegiti­ function in Irish literature. mately pregnant. Sick of arguing, Jimmy The stereotype of the stage Irishman gives her the childish, pouting, silent treat­ is most overtly displayed in The Snapper, ment. "Jimmy Sr knew he could snap out of so we will begin here. Doyle relies heavily it but he didn't want to. He was doing it on on dialogue in his novel, so we are more purpose. He was protesting; that was how attuned to Jimmy Rabbitte's words than he described it to himself' (Doyle 280). his inner thoughts. A brazen, working-class Jimmy's initial flatness now reveals a deeper plasterer living in the fictional Barrytown, level of self-awareness, but despite this he Jimmy has a blunt, obscenity-peppered still refuses to act like a responsible father sense of family communication: and address the situation. Not only is this situation comic, but "Jimmy Jr came in, from work. also serves as a pivot for the novel itself. --Howyis, he said. Jimmy's self-establishment as the wise­ --Get stuffed, you, said Jimmy Sr. cracking, unmovable, rollicking pubber --Manners! said Veronica. --Listen here, you, said Jimmy Sr. --You're comes under fire because of the strain of his not to be drinkin' all the Coke in the momin', righ'. daughter's pregnancy. In his review "Eating Buy your own. Jesus," Andrew O'Hagan puts it well: "The --I put me money into the house, said Jimmy real centre of The Snapper is the point where Jr. Jimmy has to decide which of two loyalties --Is tha' wha' yeh call it? Yeh couldn't wipe your arse with the amount you give your mother" means most to him: loyalty to his daughter, who's 'up the pole', or loyalty to his sense The Undergraduate Review 13 of himself, to the old-fashioned kind of man the spark of storytelling and humor in him he has been until now." that becomes the envy of Leopold Bloom. The Snapper now becomes a refuta­ Simon's cornic sense leaks through in the tion of typical stage Irish fatherhood because mannerisms of his son. Stephen Dedalus is Jimmy eventually breaks out of his com­ fiercely independent of his father, but his fortable, stereotypical shell and embraces father's wit and droll sense of humor help the new reality his family faces: "He was him understand Irish culture on a deeper, a changed man, a new man. That trouble a more personable level. Also, Simon's humor while back with Sharon had given him an helps Stephen recognize the irregularity of awful fright...There was more to life than life, or, as Bowen puts it "Fathers.. .it seems, drinking pints with your mates. There was provide a basis for coping with reality rather Veronica, his wife, and his children" (Doyle than spiritual dilemmas" (9). 320). If Jimmy Rabbitte-the ultimate ex­ Leopold Bloom becomes something pression of stage Irish fatherhood-can be of a spiritual father figure for Stephen. As changed by experience, then the stage Irish­ Helmut Bonheim states in Joyce's Benefic­ man takes on a new complexity. Rabbitte tions: Perspectives in Criticism, "Bloom is an object of ridicule for his stereotypical expresses, in action as in imagination, a humor, but underneath is every bit as com­ sympathy for others which Stephen rarely plex as the rest of the characters in the novel exercises, although Stephen sometimes feels and fulfills a major dramatic purpose within such sympathy..." (18). Bloom becomes the plot. something of a reaction for Stephen against In Ulysses, unlike The Snapper, each Simon's irresponsible, flair-filled father­ major character plays several roles and takes hood. Bloom is patient, kind, and impotent on a variety of mindsets, archetypes, and in his ability to degrade, insult, or compete self-conceptions. In this sea of personali­ with Stephen as Simon does on numerous ties, the duality of the Irish father is also occasions. Thus, Stephen accepts him as a apparent. Joyce's depiction differs, however, temporary surrogate, if only at arm's length because the duality of Irish fatherhood is (Bonheim 24). divided into two figures: Simon Dedalus­ The problem with Bloom is that he biological father of Stephen Dedalus-and seems nearly the opposite of the fiery, cuss­ Leopold Bloom, who acts as a spiritual filled stage Irishman. With his gentle man­ father to Stephen later in the novel. ner, thought-out actions, and complete lack Simon Dedalus's place in Joyce's of social prowess, he seems the opposite of A Portrait ofthe Artists as a Young Man is the Irish stereotypes we have seen so far. somewhat serious, but in Ulysses he be­ How, then, does he contribute to a discus­ comes much more of a comic character. sion about the dualities of an archetype if he Zack Bowen states in Ulysses as a Comic doesn't exhibit the archetype himself? Novel, "(Simon's) aphorisms, his cliches, To understand the synchronicity be­ his exaggerated and comic sense of his own tween the two works and their complication tragic dilemmas, his bombastic railing at his of the stage Irish fatherhood, we need to see in-laws, and his generally lackadaisical at­ the novels in the light of fatherhood instead titude regarding the financiaL.support of his of the fathers themselves. Sharon Rabbitte family...make Simon a classic comic charac­ seems to be under the hilarious tyranny of ter" (8). Simon remains a fairly stereotypi­ her father, until Jimmy's style of parent- cal stage Irishman. He mutters about his ing is altered. Thus, the style of fatherhood son's folly, is curt with his family, and has exhibited in The Snapper passes from trivial 14 The Undergraduate Review to substantial, comic to seriocomic, with During the carriage ride in the the passage of time. Likewise, as Bloom "Hades" episode, Bloom's inept verbal begins to take on a fathering role, Stephen skills surface, opening him to mockery. has a similar progression, as his concept He stumbles through the story of Reuben of what a father is (and can be) changes J. Dodd, a Dubliner whose son attempted throughout the course of Ulysses. Simon is suicide. A Liffey boatman fished Dodd's son stuck in his ways, and his estrangement from out of the water, and Reuben gave the man a Stephen makes any progress and reconcilia­ florin tip for the trouble. Bloom's awkward tion unlikely. Thus, Joyce refutes the typical verbal manner ruins the story so badly that fatherhood stereotype with Bloom, a char­ his friend Martin Cunningham feels obliged acter with a more humanitarian parenting . to take over half-way through to increase the approach. The duality of seriocomic Irish pace and reach the comic effect expected. fatherhood is intact, simply broken into two Even after this, Simon's comment, "One and equally comic voices. eightpence too much" (Joyce 78), dwarfs the While dark-clad, mousy Bloom funny story that Bloom had tried to initiate. doesn't seem to be outwardly funny, our Bloom's awareness of his own ineptness, privileged glances into the inner quirkiness and his attempts to overcome it, provide a of his mind reveal a character that is argu­ realm of mockery unique to his personality ably funnier than Simon. Take, for example, (Maddox 138). This is similar to Jimmy's Bloom wondering on whether statues of self-awareness of playing a specific role: Greek goddesses, who ate only ambrosia both Bloom and Jimmy are playing a type and nectar, need a working anus: of fool and know it, which opens them to change and complication. Lovely forms of women sculpted Junoian. Immor­ The question arises: Why continue tallovely. And we stuffing food in one hole and out the comic trend? Would it not be easier to behind: food, chyle, blood, dung, earth, food: have to feed it like stoking an engine. They have no. Never refute Simon with a directly compassionate looked. I'll look today. Keeper won't see. Bend down figure, who, though less entertaining than let something drop. See jf she (Joyce 145). bumbling Bloom, would better delineate the change from frivolous to meaningful? While Bloom's peculiar views bring him Bloom is necessary because the comic sense into a line of strange reasoning, his consider­ in Ulysses highlights a foundational tenet of ation of the human frustration with the filth the novel. As Zack Bowen states in Ulysses of our own bodies is instantly relatable and as a Comic Novel, "The comic universe is funny. defined by senseless turns of events trans­ Bloom, though not outwardly a stage formed by artistry into a sort of drollery, a Irish father, does not escape the mockery world where the plights of the characters often leveled at one. Bloom is endlessly invite instant, everyday identification and mocked throughout the novel, much as where the crude and the sublime exist side Jimmy Rabbitte is mocked by his mates by side" (10). and family. Simon, who is usually doing the The chance meetings of the char­ mocking, is still mocked by his daughter acters over the course of the day are just Boody: "Our father who art not in heaven." that--chance--and any congruity is the cre­ (Joyce 186). Bloom bears the brunt of mock­ ation of the reader. Ironically, only the con­ ery Ulysses due to his reserved, eccentric stant comic assertion that life is incongruous nature, and his constant self-mockery and gives some congruity to the work. Inherent -deprecation. in comedy is the assumption of frustration-- The Undergraduate Review 15 that life is incongruous and will not give full had to "signify" English into their own set bearing to mankind's best-laid plans. Pure of meanings. Doyle makes the connection in success just isn't funny. his novel The Commitments, quipping, "The The stage Irish father, in the hands Irish are the niggers of Europe." The literary of Irish writers, becomes a powerful tool to transmogrification of the stage Irishman is show that behind the frivolity commonly one representative of this process, wherein associated with Irish culture, serious change an insulting, deprecating stereotype is turned can occur. The comedy and parody is a way into a source of power through humorous of coping with the slippery nature of the self-observation. world: a means for change, not an end. Con­ While Jimmy Rabbitte and Simon sidering the oppression suffered by the Irish . Dedalus seem at first to support the Irish in their centuries of British occupation, this fatherhood stereotype, it is the recognition coping mechanism became necessary to pre­ and complication of the stereotype that helps serve some sense of fulfillment in dire times. Joyce and Doyle express the depth within This coping mechanism is not exclusive to it. By highlighting the tragic and comic in Ireland. In my developing Honors Thesis, I this originally negative archetype, the Irish will explore the use of humor and linguistic undermine the power of the insult, and use it manipulation by southern "redneck" Ameri­ to strengthen their sense of cultural identity, can and African-American cultures. Despite turning the swords of their overseers into vast differences in history and culture, these ploughshares of their own. societies share a common bond in that they were subjected to immersion of the English Works Cited language- a language that reminded them of Bonheim, Helmut. Joyce's Benefictions: Perspectives the British!Anglo-Saxon dominance in their in Criticism. Los Angeles: University of past-and were misrepresented by deroga­ California Press. 1964. tory stereotypes that they incorporated into Bowen, Zack. Ulysses as a Comic Novel. Syracuse: their cultural identities. Syracuse University Press. 1989. In The Signifying Monkey, Henry Doyle, Roddy. The Barrytown Trilogy: The Snapper. New York: Penguin Books. 1993. Louis Gates Jr. discusses the concept of Gates Jr., Henry Louis. The Signifying Monkey: A "Signifyin(g)" in African-American litera­ Theory of Afro-American Literary Criticism. ture. The theory of Signifyin(g) will be part New York: Oxford u.P. 1988. of the lens which frames my larger thesis. Joyce, James. Ulysses. New York: Random House. Signifyin(g) is a rhetorical practice in which 1986. Maddox, James. "Mockery in Ulysses." James Joyce: African-Americans, under the linguistic A Collection of Critical Essays. ed. immersion of English, transform common Mary T. Reynolds. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. English phrases and words into a separate 1993. meaning. Slaves crafted phrases that would O'Hagan, Andrew. "Eating Jesus." London Review have one meaning to their white overseers, of Books. 15, no. 13 (8 July 1993): 17. "Roddy Doyle, 1958-". Date of Publication Not but would have an encoded, very different Given: 10 pages. Contemporary Literary message among their fellow slaves. This Criticism. Infotrac. Maxwell Library. Accessed "double-talk" allowed slaves to communi­ 09 December 2003. cate-and cope-in exclusivity within the language of their oppressors. This extends to the Irish question because the Irish, like African slaves, had stopped common use of their indigenous language, and likewise