Country and Nationality

For someone of his era and economic situation, James Joyce spends an extraordinary amount of time abroad, most of the time without any financial resources to fall back on. One of the main reasons for this is his preoccupation with Ireland, his native country. In his early life, Joyce writes articles and gives lectures on men who fought for Ireland's independence and on the subject of home rule. However, he is convinced that his destiny lies elsewhere and travels the globe searching for the best place to live, living in Yugoslavia, Italy, Switzerland and France. Though he claims to often feel disconnected from his native country, his writings depend on his identity as an Irishman, though they are often critical of the contemporary Irish situation. Dubliners, for example, paints a vivid portrait of the good and the bad in the Irish capital, while Ulysses shows a...