Buck Mulligan and Stephen Dedalus of Ulysses While I realize that Ulysses is a masterful paradigm of innovative techniques (or so the university faculty would have you believe) - conflict is the nature of Buck Mulligan and Stephen Dedalus that I find of primary (if not sole) interest. Dedalus is a disillusioned academic, of Jesuit education, with literary aspirations. His academic pursuits led to a symbolic burning of his wings (his emotional detachment) as he achieved "the enlightenment of the Sun". He tolerates neither the violent Buck Mulligan nor the condescending Oxonian Haines (the co-inhabitants of Martello Tower) and feigns interest in the citizens of Dublin. Buck Mulligan is a cynical man of action. He mocks Daedalus' beliefs and intellectual prowess. While Daedalus fears water (perhaps symbolizing baptism), Mulligan once saved a drowning man. Mulligan "dives into life" as Stephen meekly questions existence and his place in reality. Mulligan can ingratiate himself with the "peasants" (see the encounter with the unpaid milk lady) while Dedalus ruminates on Irish history and appears elitist. Stephen has been "blinded by the sun" and lives in a formless world. His feelings of guilt (especially concerning the horrible death of his mother and the abandonment of his sisters to poverty) combined with the sense of estrangement require continuous introspection as a recourse. His incessant search for absolute truths (a concept dear to the Aristotelian Jesuits) clarifies little and fuels his discontent. As a teacher he is indifferent, oblivious to the inadequacies of his students. As an employee he is held in low regard. "You weren't born to be a teacher, I think... To learn you have to be humble" says maestro Deasy (35). His literary views are despised by his contemporaries and he is not considered a promising poet. Yet Daedalus is a hero of a different kind. Stephen is a sincere "thinker" and as such is diametrically opposed to Mulligan: "the man of action". Considers the importance of his actions and grieves over his perceived sins: Mulligan hides in cynicism.