Out of the theoretical work of poststructuralism and postmodernism, the concept of identity is replaced by the concept of identities-multiple and mobile identities undergoing a never-ending journey of self-formation. Important dimensions of identity include aspects of social spheres and communities, cultural phenomena, and communicative encounters. In Joyce's Ulysses, Leopold Bloom has adopted a secular materialism which leads him to identify with mankind in general rather than with any historical or ethnic group. Being a consumer and propagator of the cultural discourse, Bloom has an intense fascination with and an awareness of cultural differences. The apparently uncensored reflections of Bloom allow for the emergence of ostensibly inconsequential associations, which transcend the monologic narrowness of a single-cultural perspective. Bloom's cultural pursuits, sexual tastes, clothing habits, religious representations, intellectual motivations, and political commitments thus map out the multiple and mobile identities Joyce expected of a modern individual of Ireland.
