As Leopold Bloom follows the ordinary movements of a single day, he sometimes tries to add excitement and mystery to his life so that he can imagine himself as an extraordinary man with exceptional abilities. problems. Bloom does this to dispel the frightening idea that he is just an ordinary man with relatively mundane problems. If he can imagine that he is an extraordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, his tragedies acquire a sense of importance, instead of being insignificant miseries that he must bear alone, in silence. Bloom's "affair" with Martha is just one of the ways he tries to add excitement to his life, so that he doesn't feel so ordinary. Having a forbidden secret brings excitement and mystery to Bloom's life, as does keeping his affair hidden from everyone. Bloom goes to unnecessary lengths to avoid having his communication with Martha discovered, indulging his fantasy that someone might care about his life. Moreover, Bloom sometimes seems almost to revel in his sadness over Molly's affair, probably because it allows him to imagine a tragic hero valiantly enduring his hard life. Bloom is unquestionably an ordinary man, and while his "affair" with Martha and his marital difficulties are hardly extraordinary circumstances that no one else has experienced, Bloom finds a kind of solace in creating a fantasy with himself as the central tragic character. He revels in the secrecy surrounding his affair and his sadness over his marriage problems because they make him feel less like an ordinary man who is like any other man going through an ordinary day like any other day. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayThis day in the life of Leopold Bloom, although it is unusually difficult due to the funeral and impending infidelity of his wife, is not entirely out of the ordinary. ordinary. Although the circumstances of the day in which Ulysses takes place are somewhat extraordinary, it is clear that Bloom is an ordinary man facing a single day in his life. Bloom is obviously an intelligent man, as the reader can infer from his intellectual thoughts on everything from physics to parallax, and he is certainly aware of his ordinariness. His desire to be extraordinary – to be an exciting and mysterious man – is what drives him to begin his “affair” with Martha. The affair, however, has so far consisted only of a few indirectly suggestive letters. This is definitely not a wild, passionate romance – the correspondence isn't even incriminating. Bloom, however, elevated the matter in his mind to heights far out of proportion to the reality of their communication. He takes unnecessary precautions to avoid being “caught”: Corresponding under a pseudonym; using a post office box; shredding the envelope his letter arrives in and throwing it into the river. Henry Flower's pseudonym and false address serve to literally transform Bloom into another person – a person, presumably, capable of doing exciting things, things that Leopold Bloom could only dream of doing. Shredding the letter is almost a spy tactic, as if Bloom fears someone is following him, collecting evidence of subversive acts he might engage in. Additionally, Bloom only takes Martha's letter out of his pocket when no one is around, perhaps imagining that someone might be watching him. The reality, of course, is that no onewould pay attention to a man walking down the street and reading a letter. No one would even question what was written on the page. Yet for Bloom, writing the letter is exciting in its surreptitiousness, and the possibilities that the correspondence seems to imply are incredibly exciting, because a real affair is such a forbidden act. The relationship with Martha is of great importance to Bloom, because he can see himself as a man. He is in control of his own life, not an emasculated "Poldy", and he can feel some excitement in his life at the possibility of being caught. . "Next time, go further. Villain: punished" (64). Bloom revels in the excitement of doing something bad, of being a "naughty boy" for perhaps the first time, even if his actions are only "bad" in his own mind. In chapter 11, Bloom fantasizes that he is being followed, his correspondence traced, and so he must cover up the evidence of his communication with Martha. Through this fantasy, he gives excitement and importance to what is, in reality, only a relatively tame pseudo-relationship. While sitting in the tavern and responding to Martha's letter, Bloom experiences doing something forbidden, taking the time to disguise his writing and erase the print on the blotter. "No, change that ee... Sign H. They like the sad tail at the end... Sponge on the other one so he can't read. There. That's right. A pricey piece of idea. Something detective read on a blotter" (229-30). Again, of course, the reality is that no one would pay attention to a print on a blotter, take the time to decipher it, or even care about what is written if they could read it. However, by imagining not only that someone would try to discover his secrets, but that they would care, Bloom is able to give himself the fleeting feeling of being a mysterious and important man. All the little fantasies and dramas Bloom engages in are ways for him to feel important, special – more human. Another way Bloom makes his life (in his mind, anyway) more exciting and unusual than it really is is to revel in the "tragedy" that his marriage has become. Although his marital difficulties are not fantasies, as is his affair with Martha, they have a similar effect on Bloom. What he feels about Martha's affair and what he feels about Molly's affair with Boylan both serve to reinforce Bloom's sense of being important, of being alive. The affair with Martha makes Bloom feel like more of a man, and his sadness over Molly's affair makes Bloom feel like more of a human. His sadness for Molly is real; a real emotion that Bloom clings to so as not to lose her humanity. He can feel that he chose not to act, as if he could still make choices and that it was almost noble to have chosen not to confront Boylan. Granted, Bloom is not a confrontational person, but perhaps he chooses to ignore the affair and let it continue because the sadness makes him feel truly, truly human. Molly's affair with Boylan adds a kind of perverse excitement to Bloom's life by making him the center of what is in reality a common man's tragedy. Bloom is forced to feel a deep sadness and almost begins to enjoy this feeling, because it makes him feel somewhat extraordinary. Deep sadness can make us feel special, important, like no one can understand suffering, and Bloom takes what sometimes seems like a kind of pleasure in his misery. The emotions he feels every time he thinks of Molly make him feel more alive, and therefore.