Ulysses, Telemachus, No. 5

Rob's drawing gives us an intriguing birds-eye view that conveys at least two important pieces of information: a) we're out in the middle of nowhere, and b) Mulligan is putting on a show without an audience. Not having an audience is intolerable for Mulligan, so he will shortly summon Stephen Dedalus to serve as an altar boy to his perverse shaving mass.

Let us say something obvious. Living in an unheated Napoleonic fortification, 7 1/2 miles from the center of town as the crow flies, is not a practical decision.
It's exactly the sort of decision that a bunch of 20-something guys make. Before they get girlfriends. Or boyfriends. And Mulligan is totally living the dream, making the most of his tower by the sea--or he's trying to.

And one more obvious thing--there's a practical reason Mulligan comes to the top of the tower to shave. It's very dark and smoky in the living quarters below, not to mention the heady aroma of one rather unclean Dedalus (more on that later) and a sleeping Englishman.