From Isla Vista to Dublin...

Ulysses is set in the streets and alleyways of the city of Dublin. Shortly after the publication of Ulysses, Joyce explained his choice of setting saying that,


“For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Dublin I can get to the heart of all the cities of the world. In the particular is contained the universal.”


Reading Ulysses, I found the above statement to be very true. As Joyce took me through the streets of Dublin and from pub to pub, I couldn't help but see the similarities between this fictional story and my real life here in Isla Vista.
The streets, and people and drama of the story were so universally relatable. In particular, the alcohol culture of the two cities of Dublin and Isla Vista are glaringly similar. Just as the characters in Ulysses strolled through the streets of Dublin, wandering from pub to pub, so do the kids of Isla Vista stroll through the streets to go from one social event to another. The Irish drink to be social and gossip and people watch just as we do. Drinking in both locations is for social purposes.
Joyce alludes to the socialness of the drinking in Ulysses in the episode “Hades” writing, “Expect we’ll pull up here on the way back to drink his health. Pass round the consolation. Elixir of life.”
The Irish see alcohol as a healing, life prolonging drink. They use it as an outlet for life's hardships. They drink with friends to have a good time and forget about their worries just as UCSB students do.


Additionally, both the Irish and the UCSB students typically drink to get drunk. That is what really sets the two cities apart from most other drinking cultures. Most other European countries will have a glass of wine or a single beer with their meal every day. The Irish however will typically down three pints in one sitting. The majority of Americans, outside of the college population, do not drink to get hammered. Only in college is it really considered normal for a person to have more than four drinks in an hour. As you can see, Isla Vista and Dublin are actually very similar in their alcohol cultures.