Throughout Ulysses, alcohol and drinking is a recurring theme. It seems as though half of the time, the characters are either at the pub or on their way to meet someone at the pub. Even when the scene is not at a pub, many of the characters were most likely buzzed or drunk.
In "Cyclops", alcohol is particularly highlighted and you can almost smell the whiskey right off the pages. In this chapter, drinking and nationalist fervor come to a climactic point in Barney Kiernan's pub. Bloom casually joins a group of men and although it begins civil, a citizen begins to get very drunk and insults Bloom and his wife. Although the citizen was insulting Bloom for not being loyal to his country and for being Jewish, the citizen was also ticked off when Bloom turned down a drink and did not buy a round for the men.
The Irish are passionate in their nationalism and for these men, drinking is an aspect that defines the Irish citizen. Bloom stands out from the other men in several ways. For one, as the anonymous narrator points out, Bloom continually turns the easy-going bar conversation serious with his intellectual superiority. Yet, the most obvious distinction is that he does not drink. By not partaking in the drinking he is alienated by the rest of the group.
“Bloom, says he, what will you have? So they started arguing about the point, Bloom saying he wouldn’t and couldn’t and excuse him no offence and all to that and then he said well he’d just take a cigar. Gob, he’s a prudent member and no mistake.”
The other men feel that he is being rude by not buying rounds and joining in the regular course of socialization. To these Irish patriots, turning down a good pint of Guinness is a very foreign thing. So when in Ireland, do as the Irish!
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