From the Episode 1 · Telemachus thread on Swerve of Shore, by Brandon Nicklaus.
We are using the original 1922 First Printing by Shakespeare & Co. - section attached
We begin this section with Buck Mulligan sitting on the rocks near the water, unlacing his boots and scrambling over stones, while Joyce’s prose captures the shimmering play of light on his body. Joyce’s use of the word “pate” suggests that the water is glistening on Buck’s bald or closely shaven head, with a “garland” of grey hair around it. This description gives the impression of a monk-like appearance, as he stands there in his sagging black underpants, water spilling from the fabric.
Buck, ever the blasphemer, doesn’t pause his mockery. Even while in the water, he makes the sign of the cross with his thumbnail on his forehead and chest while looking at Stephen and Haines, treating the gesture with his usual irreverence.
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Opening paragraphs quoted from swerveofshore.com and reproduced with the author's permission. This site is a layout rebuild on the zer0-mistakes theme — the full essay lives on the original.