In addition to depicting Bloom's sexual misadventures, "The Lotus-Eaters" introduces a number of motifs that will be developed throughout Ulysses. One of these is the ad that appears in Bloom's paper, the Freeman's Journal, avowing that home is nothing unless it contains a container of Plumtree's Potted Meat. All the words in the short jingle are ironic. To "pot the meat" is slang for sexual intercourse; home is really nothing, even with the product — at least for Bloom, for after Molly and Boylan eat Plumtree's Potted Meat in bed after making love, Bloom later finds some crumbs; and this particular ad looks forward to the Parable of the Plums, which Stephen will recite in "Aeolus" and also in "Ithaca."
Equally important is the "Throwaway" motif, which is introduced when the unsavory Bantam Lyons thinks that Bloom is giving him a tip on the Ascot Gold Cup Race. Later, in "Cyclops," Bloom gets into trouble when the patrons of Barney Kiernan's pub, thinking that Bloom must have won money on the race, wonder why he does not stand them a drink. Actually, Bloom said to Lyons merely that he was going to throw away his copy of the Freeman's Journal and that Lyons might as well have it.
The name of the winning horse, Throwaway, has symbolic importance since this 20-1 dark horse wins the Gold Cup, besting Sceptre, Boylan's horse. Joyce is suggesting that, although Bloom may at present be "thrown away" by Molly, he may eventually overcome the phallic "sceptre." When Boylan hears that his selection has lost the race — after 8:00 p.m. — he flies into a rage and tears up his tickets in the Blooms' bedroom.
A more humorous motif is started with M'Coy's request that Bloom mark down his name at Dignam's funeral. M'Coy never does show up; yet his name and Stephen Dedalus's name (Stephen does not attend the funeral either) appear in the newspaper, while Bloom's name, though listed among the mourners, is mutilated into "L. Boom." With his request, M'Coy becomes one of the "sinister Dubliners" with whom Bloom has to contend. Fortunately, Bloom was aware of M'Coy's well-known ruse of borrowing valises in order to pawn them, and Bloom is able to escape with his luggage untouched and waiting to be filled for Molly's upcoming concert trip.
