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“Stephen closed his eyes to hear his boots crush crackling wrack and shells.”
Plain English translation
Stephen closes his eyes and tries to understand reality through hearing instead of sight. He reflects that sounds occur one after another in time, unlike visual impressions, which appear simultaneously. As he walks blindly across Sandymount Strand, he worries about falling, observes the sounds beneath his feet, and drifts into philosophical speculation about space, time, creation, and eternity. Even a simple walk on the beach becomes a meditation on how human beings perceive and understand existence.