Finnegans Wake is not a puzzle to be "solved," but a world to be inhabited. It remains the ultimate experiment in what language can do. It challenges the reader to let go of the need for linear "sense" and instead embrace the infinite complexity of the human experience.
Joyce utilized the philosophy of Giambattista Vico, who divided history into four ages: The age of gods and thunder. The Heroic: The age of noble figures and myths. The Human: The age of democracy and reason.
While the characters' names change constantly, they are anchored by archetypal figures:
Joyce wanted to capture the "unconscious" mind, where logic is fluid and identities merge. The Universal Family: HCE and ALP
