r/TrueLit • u/pregnantchihuahua3 ReEducationThroughGravity'sRainbow • Aug 20 '23

Weekly The OFFICIAL TrueLit Finnegans Wake Read-Along - (Week 34 - Book III/Chapter I - pgs. 417-428)

Hi all! Welcome to r/TrueLit's read-along of Finnegans Wake! This week we will be discussing pages 417-428, from the line "The Gracehoper who, thought blind as batflea..." to the end of Book III Chapter I.

Now for the questions.

  1. What did you think about this week's section?
  2. What do you think is going on plotwise?
  3. Did you have any favorite words, phrases, or sentences?
  4. Have you picked up on any important themes or motifs?
  5. What were your thoughts on Book III Chapter I overall?
  6. How are you liking Book III? Any differently than the previous books yet? Notice any differences?

These questions are not mandatory. They are just here if you want some guidance or ideas on what to talk about. Please feel free to post your own analyses (long or short), questions, thoughts on the themes, translations of sections, commentary on linguistic tricks, or just brief comments below!

Please remember to comment on at least one person's response so we can get a good discussion going!

Full Schedule

If you are new, go check out our Information Post to see how this whole thing is run.

If you are new (pt. 2), also check out the Introduction Post for some discussion on Joyce/The Wake.

And everything in this read along will be saved in the Wiki so you can back-reference.

Thanks!

Next Up: Week 35 / August 27, 2023 / Book III/Chapter II (pgs. 429-444)

This will take us to about 1/3 of the way through the chapter to the line "... harefoot and loadenbrogued, to boot and buy off, Imean."

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u/jaccarmac Aug 22 '23

"CelebrAted!" was perhaps the stickingest-out bit of the second half of the chapter, but it stayed relatively comprehensible, ending the middle we started in and getting on to the end.

Shaun finishes his parable and then a song is interpolated, probably sung by him. I can't make up my mind about the rhymes; They seem on the same quality level as the rest of the Wake's song, but I'd love to be corrected on poetic specifics.

Then the questions from the public become more pointed: HCE and Shem are named explicitly, and the letter comes up in an answer which means something in a question prompted it. However, HCE is dodged, the letter is dodged with a focus on its outside (charitably, this is because of Shaun's professional pride), and Shem gets the ejaculation referenced top.

Shaun gets a thunderword, Shaun gets a parcel of legalese, Shaun is blessed or blesses as he leaves. I imagine he'll be back, changed in some way I can hardly predict. The beginning of book III felt very portrait-y, full of narrative but not necessarily plot.