Why should you read James Joyce's "Ulysses"? - Sam Slote

Translator: Elda Indria Sari Reviewer: Reno Kanti Riananda

James Joyce's "Ulysses" is widely considered to be both a literary masterpiece

"Ulysses" karya James Joyce dikenal luas sebagai mahakarya sastra

and one of the hardest works of literature to read.

dan salah satu karya sastra paling rumit untuk dibaca.

It inspires such devotion that once a year on a day called Bloomsday,

Buku ini begitu digemari sampai-sampai setahun sekali di hari bernama Bloomsday,

thousands of people all over the world dress up like the characters,

ribuan orang di seluruh dunia berpakaian seperti karakternya,

take to the streets,

turun ke jalan,

and read the book aloud.

dan membaca bukunya keras-keras.

And some even make a pilgrimage to Dublin

Beberapa orang bahkan berziarah ke Dublin

just to visit the places so vividly depicted in Joyce's opus.

hanya untuk mengunjungi tempat yang disebutkan dalam buku Joyce.

So what is it about this famously difficult novel

Bagian mana dari novel yang terkenal rumit ini

that inspires so many people?

yang begitu menginspirasi banyak orang?

There's no one simple answer to that question,

Tidak ada satu jawaban sederhana untuk pertanyaan itu,

but there are a few remarkable things about the book

tetapi ada beberapa hal istimewa tentang buku ini

that keep people coming back.

yang terus menarik pembacanya.

The plot, which transpires over the course of a single day,

Plotnya yang terjadi dalam kurun waktu satu hari,

is a story of three characters:

adalah kisah tiga tokohnya:

Stephen Dedalus, reprised from Joyce's earlier novel,

Stephen Dedalus, tokoh dari novel Joyce sebelumnya,

"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man";

"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man";

Leopold Bloom, a half-Jewish advertising canvasser for a Dublin newspaper;

Leopold Bloom, pria separuh Yahudi, wiraniaga untuk surat kabar Dublin;

and Bloom's wife Molly, who is about to embark on an affair.

dan istri Bloom, Molly, yang hendak berselingkuh.

Stephen is depressed because of his mother's recent death.

Stephen depresi akibat kematian ibunya baru-baru ini.

Meanwhile, Bloom wanders throughout the city.

Sementara, Bloom berkeliling kota.

He goes to a funeral,

Ia pergi ke upacara pemakaman,

his work,

tempat kerjanya,

a pub,

sebuah pub,

and so on,

dan seterusnya,

avoiding going home because Molly is about to begin her affair.

enggan pulang ke rumah karena Molly hendak berselingkuh.

Where it really starts to get interesting, though,

Yang membuat ceritanya menarik adalah,

is how the story's told.

caranya dikisahkan.

Each chapter is written in a different style.

Setiap bab ditulis dengan gaya yang berbeda.

15 is a play,

Bab 15 seperti sandiwara,

13 is like a cheesy romance novel,

bab 13 seperti novel roman picisan,

12 is a story with bizarre, exaggerated interruptions,

bab 12 sebuah kisah dengan jeda aneh dan berlebihan,

11 uses techniques, like onomatopoeia, repetitions, and alliteration

bab 11 menggunakan teknik, seperti onomatope, repetisi, dan purwakanti

to imitate music,

untuk meniru musik,

and 14 reproduces the evolution of English literary prose style,

dan bab 14 meniru evolusi gaya prosa sastra Inggris,

from its beginnings in Anglo-Saxon right up to the 20th century.

sejak permulaan Anglo-Saxon hingga abad ke-20.

That all culminates in the final chapter

Semua mencapai puncaknya di bab terakhir

which follows Molly's stream of consciousness

saat menelusuri alur kesadaran Molly

as it spools out in just eight long paragraphs

yang tertuang dalam hanya delapan paragraf panjang

with almost no punctuation.

nyaris tanpa tanda baca.

The range of styles Joyce uses in "Ulysses"

Ragam gaya yang Joyce gunakan di "Ulysses"

is one of the things that makes it so difficult,

adalah salah satu sebab yang membuatnya sulit dibaca,

but it also helps make it enjoyable.

tetapi juga menyenangkan.

And it's one of the reasons that the book is held up

Inilah salah satu alasan mengapa buku ini dianggap

as one of the key texts of literary modernism,

sebagai bagian penting dari modernisme kesusastraan,

a movement characterized by overturning traditional modes of writing.

sebuah gerakan yang memutarbalikkan metode penulisan tradisional.

Joyce fills his narrative gymnastic routines

Joyce mengisi narasinya yang lincah

with some of the most imaginative use of language you'll find anywhere.

dengan beberapa penggunaan bahasa paling imajinatif yang pernah ada.

Take, for instance,

Sebagai contoh,

"The figure seated on a large boulder at the foot of a round tower

"Sosok yang duduk di atas batu besar di kaki menara bundar

was that of a broadshouldered deepchested stronglimbed frankeyed redhaired

ialah si tokoh berbahu dan berdada lebar lengan kekar mata nanar rambut ahmar

freelyfreckled shaggybearded widemouthed largenosed longheaded deepvoiced

wajah burik janggut kusut mulut lebar hidung besar kepala panjang suara berat

barekneed brawnyhanded hairlegged ruddyfaced sinewyarmed hero."

lutut bogel tangan berotot kaki berbulu wajah bersemu dan gagah perkasa."

Here, Joyce exaggerates the description of a mangy old man in a pub

Di sini, Joyce melebih-lebihkan gambaran seorang pria tua kotor di pub

to make him seem like an improbably gigantesque hero.

untuk membuatnya nampak bagaikan pahlawan perkasa.

It's true that some sections are impenetrably dense at first glance,

Memang benar beberapa bagian sekilas tampak terlalu padat,

but it's up to the reader to let their eyes skim over them

tetapi terserah pembaca untuk membacanya sambil lalu

or break out a shovel and dig in.

atau mencernanya dengan seksama.

And once you start excavating the text,

Begitu kau mulai menggali teksnya,

you'll find the book to be an encyclopedic treasure trove.

buku itu akan menjadi harta karun ensiklopedis.

It's filled with all manner of references and allusions

Buku itu dipenuhi beragam referensi dan kiasan

from medieval philosophy to the symbolism of tattoos,

dari filsafat abad pertengahan hingga simbolisme tato,

and from Dante to Dublin slang.

dan bahasa slang Dante sampai Dublin.

As suggested by the title, some of these allusions revolve around Homer's "Odyssey."

Seperti judulnya, beberapa kiasan ini berkisar pada "Pengembaraan" Homer.

Each chapter is named after a character or episode from the "Odyssey,"

Setiap bab dinamai sesuai nama karakter atau episode di "Odyssey,"

but the literary references are often coy, debatable, sarcastic, or disguised.

tapi kiasan sastranya kerap malu-malu, meragukan, sarkastik, atau tersembunyi.

For example, Homer's Odysseus, after an epic 20-year-long journey,

Contohnya, setelah Homer, mengembara selama 20 tahun,

returns home to Ithaca and reunites with his faithful wife.

ia kembali ke Ithaca dan berkumpul kembali dengan istrinya yang setia.

In contrast, Joyce's Bloom wanders around Dublin for a day

Sebaliknya, Bloom berkeliling Dublin seharian penuh

and returns home to his unfaithful wife.

dan pulang menemui istrinya yang tak setia.

It's a very funny book.

Buku ini sangat lucu.

It has highbrow intellectual humor,

Humornya cerdas,

if you have the patience to track down Joyce's references,

jika kau sabar menggali referensi Joyce,

and more lowbrow dirty jokes.

dan lelucon-lelucon kotornya.

Those, and other sexual references, were too much for some.

Lelucon tadi, dan beberapa referensi seksual bisa agak berlebihan.

In the U.S., the book was put on trial, banned, and censored

Di Amerika Serikat, buku itu diperkarakan, dilarang, dan disensor

before it had even been completed

bahkan sebelum diselesaikan

because it was originally published as a serial novel.

karena awalnya diterbitkan sebagai novel berseri,

Readers of "Ulysses" aren't just led through a variety of literary styles.

Pembaca "Ulysses" tak hanya dibawa melewati beragam gaya sastra.

They're also given a rich and shockingly accurate tour

Mereka juga dibawa dalam tur yang kaya dan sangat akurat

of a specific place at a time:

tentang sebuah tempat spesifik di suatu waktu:

Dublin in 1904.

Dublin di tahun 1904.

Joyce claimed that if Dublin were to be destroyed,

Joyce mengklaim jika Dublin dihancurkan,

it could be recreated from the pages of this book.

kota itu bisa dibangun kembali dari halaman-halaman buku ini.

While such a claim is not exactly true,

Walau klaim itu tak sepenuhnya benar,

it does show the great care that Joyce took in precisely representing details,

tetapi memang menunjukkan perhatian Joyce akan detail,

both large and small, of his home city.

baik besar dan kecil, tentang kota kelahirannya.

No small feat considering he wrote the entire novel

Bukan hal yang remeh mengingat dia menulis novel itu

while living outside of his native Ireland.

jauh dari negaranya sendiri, Irlandia.

It's a testament to Joyce's genius that "Ulysses" is a difficult book.

Kerumitan "Ulysses" adalah testamen terhadap kejeniusan Joyce.

Some people find it impenetrable without a full book of annotations

Beberapa orang sulit membacanya tanpa buku anotasi lengkap

to help them understand what Joyce is even talking about.

yang membantu mereka memahami maksud Joyce.

But there's a lot of joy to be found in reading it,

Namun ada banyak kegembiraan dalam membacanya,

more than just unpacking allusions and solving puzzles.

lebih dari sekadar membongkar kiasan dan memecahkan teka-teki.

And if it's difficult, or frustrating, or funny,

Jika buku itu sulit, membuat frustrasi, atau lucu,

that's because life is all that, and more.

karena hidup memang seperti itu, bahkan lebih.

Responding to some criticism of "Ulysses,"

Menanggapi beberapa kritik tentang "Ulysses,"

and there was a lot when it was first published,

yang jumlahnya sangat banyak saat pertama diterbitkan,

Joyce said that if "Ulysses" isn't worth reading,

Joyce berkata jika "Ulysses" tak pantas dibaca,

then life isn't worth living.

maka hidup tak pantas dijalani.