NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man traces the growth and development of Stephen Dedalus from infancy to young manhood in Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century, and his gradual decision to cast off all his social, national, and religious constraints and live a life devoted to artistic pursuits. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is one of the earliest examples in English literature of a novel that makes extensive use of stream of consciousness, which is a narrative technique through which the author attempts to represent the fluid and eruptive nature of human thought. The narrative is anchored in the interior life of a character rather than from the perspective of an objective third-person narrator. Thus Joyce's novel does not begin: Stephen Dedalus was born in February 1882 in Rather, Dublin, the eldest son of Simon Dedalus. Nor does it proceed by clear and direct explanation of crucial stages in Stephens story. There is no section beginning, When Stephen was six his parents decided to send him as a boarder to Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare.
Instead of such direct statements, the first section begins with the voice of Stephens father telling a bedtime story and the second section begins with the description of a school playground swarming with boys. Eventhough, Joyce is careful to mark changes of scene clearly, the reader has to keep his wits about him in order to follow the transitions that occur when Joyce moves from presenting the outer scene to presenting what is going on in Stephens mind. For instance, when Stephen is still wondering whether he really dare take his complaint against Father Dolan to the rector when he is already approaching the rectors door. He was walking down along the matting and he saw the door before him. It was impossible: he could not. The first sentence is direct narration; the second is Stephens thoughts.
The absence of a narrator to mediate the novel leaves this jog to the reader to access the mind of the protagonist. And so, the reader will only enter into what comes into the protagonists mind. Anything which does not impinge on the mind of the protagonist will not be found in the novel. The first page of the novel might be considered as an introduction to the whole novel. It also introduces the characters of the archetypal family. Stephen, the son, Simon Dedalus, the father, Mrs.
Dedalus, uncle Charles and aunt Dante. This novel presents the father and the mother as artists to be. The father is a storyteller, and the mother is a pianist. Stephens earliest memory of them is of admiration, love, and respect. Stephens mother is presented in association with two significant symbols; Cold and Warm: When you wet the bed first it is warm then it gets cold. His mother put on the oil-sheet.
That had the queer smell. The succession of the words warm and cold as two contrasting natural elements implies an idea of conflict towards his mother. As a child, the image of the mother figure is strong. It is nurturing and supportive, that of a woman standing at the half-door of a cottage with a child in her arms... who shelters and protects and makes Stephen afraid to think of how it was to be without a mother. As Stephen grows, however, like any child, his dependency of his mother begins to dwindle, as does his awe for her.
He first begins to question the purity of his mother, his creator, and his earth, when confronted by his classmates, who taunt and confuse the innocent act of kissing his mother. He suddenly wonders, Was it right to kiss his mother or wrong to kiss his mother? What did that mean, to kiss? You put your face up like that to say good night and then his mother put her face down. That was to kiss. He begins to question his relationship with her and she is suddenly seen as a dirty figure, beginning the transformation of Stephens image of women; from that of mother to whore.
His image of his father falls from grace also, especially as the family grows poorer and poorer and has to move from one bad place to another. Stephens inclination for detachment form his family ties is clearly seen during the trip he took with his father to the city of Cork. In Cork, Stephen experiences humiliation because of his fathers misconduct in public. While they were once in a coffeehouse, for example, Simon Dedalus rattle against the saucer, and Stephen tried to cover that shameful sign of his fathers drinking.
Stephens family becomes a source of frustration and guilt for him, for he can do nothing to help them, and the continued ineptitude of his father exasperates Stephen. Through his development from boy to man, Stephen comes to see Ireland as a labyrinth; trapping her heroes and killing them. This idea began with the scene of Stephens return from Clongowes for the Christmas holiday. The family, Mr. Casey, and aunt Dante are gathered around for the holiday feast when a political discussion about Parnell ensues. Mr.
Dedalus laments that the Irish are priest-ridden while Dante calls Parnell a traitor. Mr. Casey speaks of earlier betrayals of Ireland by the clergy, while Dante declares that the clergy are always right. Later in the novel, Stephen clashes with the submissive students in the appearance of the university because he refused to sign a petition for disarmament and universal peace. Furthermore, Stephen rejected Dates claims of patriotism arguing that the Irish have never had a great leader whom they did not betray or abandon. For all this, Stephen begins to see Dublin as filthy with its foul green puddles, and reaches a conclusion that if he ever wants to find his true identity; he had to fly free form here.
The Church is perhaps the greatest constraint on Stephen. As a young boy, Stephen is influenced heavily by his Catholic faith and his Irish nationality. He attends a strict religious boarding school called Clongowes Wood College. We can clearly witness this influence from the beginning. When a child, Stephen is demanded by his mother and aunt Dante to apologize for wishing to marry a protestant girl, Eileen. His mother said: oh, Stephen apologize.
Dante said: O, if not, the eagles will come and pull out his eyes. The image of the eagle here represents the Church's threatening power. The Church will later acquire different connotations especially with the gray color. In Clongowes, Stephen encounters his first confrontation with the injustice of the Church. The college Jesuits, motivated by their fear of the Parnallites, harshly treated the students who were under their control. Father Dolan authority increased and he applied a very severe policy against all offenders.
Consequently, careless students were subjected to paying. Before this physical punishment, they had to receive a psychological one, for example, they should kneel before their classmates. It is so happened that Stephen was one of those who did not write the Latin homework. Eventhough Stephen had a very good excuse for not writing his homework, having his eyeglasses broken by one of his colleges, Father Dolan did not accept any excuse and so Stephen was punished like other careless students. Stephen became angry of the injustice exercised by Father Dolan. His anger culminated in rebellion against Father Dolan and decided to take the matter up to the Dean.
In fact, Stephens rebellion against Father Dolan is a clear evidence of what is yet to come; Stephens rejection of the Church. Therefore, by the end of Chapter II, we witness Stephens indulgence in the senses. Motivated by a strong sexual desire, Stephen Wanted to sin with another of his kind, to force another being to sin with him and to exalt with her in sin. And thats what he did with a whore. This sin led to another and another until he reaches a stage where he becomes in a conflict between the spiritual and material life. And on a three-day religious retreat Stephen hears fiery sermons about sin, judgment, and hell.
Deeply shaken, the young man resolves to rededicate himself to a life of Christian piety so he begins attending Mass every day, and humiliate himself in order to be a good pious Christian. However, Stephens temporary submission did not last for long. For one day, the director of his school calls him to offer him priesthood. During this conversation, the director tries to touches Stephens pride by magnificently describing the life of a priest.
He uses the attraction of power and refers to the miracle of transubstantiation- the ability to transform wine into the blood of Christ. All this appeal to Stephen at first to the extent that some life and color come to his cheeks. But when the director starts describing the way a priest lives; together with other monks in seclusion, Stephens sense of detachment arise in him. And when he shakes hand with the director, he looks at his face and sees the lack of mirth in his face, so he quickly detaches his hand. He realizes that he wanted to search for his own experiences and not be taught about others. What made Stephen reject the directors offer is Stephens nature.
His artistic inclinations motivated him to assert his individuality. His opinion was asserted when saw a group of Christian brothers passing across the bridge in perfect discipline. They had surrendered their wills tot eh priests. Consequently, they lost the opportunity for freedom and self-assertion. Stephen could not stand this life because he was both free and self-assertive. His wondering's takes him to the beach where he comes about a beautiful girl gazing out to sea.
Her image penetrated his soul. He mused in her beauty and holiness. His description of this seabird girl, her body, clothes, and hair combined the spirit with the senses; the holy with the profane, and thus rejecting the Church. At this moment tranquility, Stephen develops a theory of aesthetics that is quite sophisticated for a university student; he thinks carefully and thoroughly about beauty and the power of art, and knows that he can do nothing else but pursue the life of a poet and writer-an artist. At this stage of Stephens life, he has been called to another kind of priesthood, that of the artist. In the end, at the university, Stephen works to formulate his theories about art while cultivating an independent existence liberated from the expectations of his family and friends.
He becomes more and more determined to remain free from all limiting pressures, and eventually decides to leave Ireland to escape them. Like his mythical namesake Daedalus, Stephen hopes to build himself wings on which he can fly above all obstacles and achieve a life as an artist. He evokes Old father, old artificer to stand by [him] now and ever in good stead. The whole novel is a spiritual odyssey written as an attempt to discover Stephens identity and his place in the universe. Throughout the novel, Stephen tries several alternatives one by one, and he is also subjected to different kinds of orders, familial, national, social, and religious. However none of these alternatives or orders suits him, and that is why he ends up abandoning everything and choosing the hard way by following his own way. 334
Free research essays on topics related to: stephen dedalus, begins to question, stephen, portrait of the artist, artist as a young man
Research essay sample on Artist As A Young Man Begins To Question
