Part 1, Chapters 1 through 7 Summary

In "Ulysses", young Ulysses Macauley enjoys nature (a gopher and a bird) in his back yard, and then runs to look at a passing train. Of all the people he waves at, including the conductor and some passengers, only a black man waves back and shouts his joy at going home. Wandering back to his home, Ulysses' mind returns again and again to the black man's joy, thoughts which persist even when he encounters an old man who seems to be deliberately ignoring him. When Ulysses gets home, he helps his mother collect eggs from the chicken hatchery in the back.

In "Homer", Ulysses's older brother Homer, wearing "a telegraph messenger's coat which was far too big and a cap which was not quite big enough", rides his bicycle through the town. As he goes, he too makes note...