Talk:Leopold Bloom

Untitled
Atorpen, what do you know about this character that might interest our readers? --Ed Poor

Secondary source: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/ulysses/characters.html

Serious makeover needed
For one of the most significant characters in the history of literature, I feel like this article could use a bit of expansion. For God's sake, the page on Edward Cullen is longer. Here are a few possible themes or directions that we can take this page:


 * Bloom as Odysseus (yes, this is mentioned, but in no way expounded upon).
 * Bloom as "Leo" the lion of Christ, to be killed and resurrected.
 * Bloom as the Jewish diaspora, in some ways alienated and far away from his place of origin (like Odysseus).
 * Bloom as a foil for Dedalus (e.g. concerned with earthly rather than cerebral matters).

The list goes on and on, but underscores one important point: this page contains almost no substantive information on the character or literary significance of Leopold Bloom.

--Tethros (talk) 18:07, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

Add the image of the character in the article accordingly please....
from external links or other relevant source --124.78.214.145 (talk) 06:15, 26 December 2009 (UTC)

Bloom's religion
Early in the page, there is a claim that Bloom is not a Jew, but merely mistaken for one. Although he has technically converted and been baptized in the Catholic church, he clearly still identifies as Jewish. Near the end of the Cyclops chapter, he says "And the Savior was a jew and his father was a jew. Your God." Not "my God" but "your God." A few lines later, he says "Your God was a jew. Christ was a jew like me." (my italics)

Admittedly, he's not much of a practicing Jew - he's a rather secular fellow, after all - but saying that he's "mistaken" for a jew seems a bit strong.

65.25.234.175 (talk) 01:55, 28 June 2011 (UTC) e.k.

My understanding is that, from the point of view of Judaism, "mistaken as a Jew" is precisely what he is; even if the lines quoted here were a profession of faith (which they aren't; they are a response to a provocation), that would not be enough to make him a Jew in the sight of Jews.

At the same time, I completely agree that the wording *we* use should be neutral. What about "perceived as a Jew"? Feketekave (talk) 17:19, 20 November 2015 (UTC)

(I am of two minds as to the inclusion of the category "Fictional Jews". There are many issues with these categories in Wikipedia - they are never thorough enough, they are of doubtful utility, and of course there's an entire shelf worth of issues when similar categories (not "fictional" :) ) are imposed on flesh-and-blood individuals. At the same time, the motif of "Leopold Bloom as a Jew" is of some relevance, though perhaps not quite as much as it seems to be from the article as it currently stands. It could be removed, but I haven't done so.) Feketekave (talk) 17:23, 20 November 2015 (UTC)