Character Analysis
Hynes is a minor character who briefly gets some spotlight in "Cyclops" because of his close affiliation with the first-person narrator of the chapter. There is little particularly distinguishing about Hynes, like many of the other characters in the chapter, he simply makes up part of the texture of the Dublin scene; he fleshes out Joyce's panorama of the city. It is worth noting, however, that he comes across relatively well in the episode because he is close with the anonymous man who is narrating it. Bloom, on the other hand, comes across as a bit of a fool because the narrator dislikes him so strongly. One has to wonder to what extent the narrator's opinions are determined by who buys him drinks, as Hynes buys one round after another in the chapter while Bloom buys none.