Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

A.) Theme- Break from conformity.

A crucial aspect of Stephen Dedalus' development into an artist was his necessity to break away from the conformity, both religious and idealistic, within Ireland at the time. Stephen had to come to terms with the fact that he was different from most of his peers and from his family; he preferred solitude and was intellectually deeper. Stephen did not merely want to know the hard facts and figures, he wanted to understand why and how things worked. "He saw the heads of his classmates meekly bent as they wrote in their notebooks the notes they were bidden to note, nominal definitions, essential definitions..."(Joyce 192). Stephen feels that he is on a higher level of thinking than his classmates; he is more intrigued by the thought process and the meaning behind the words. As Stephen gradually progresses in his stages as an artist, he recognizes his need to overcome the religious and national "nets" that have been inflicted upon him since he was born. He wants the chance to experience life as a human being and make his own choices and develop his own opinions based upon those experiences.

Stephen realizes that the language he speaks, the religion he has been indoctrinated with, and the expectation to fight for Irish independence are all obstacles that block his path to individuality. He has to overcome these obstacles to accomplish his goal of intellectual freedom as an artist. His progression throughout the novel involves his gradual break from the Catholic church. He also leaves the university recognizing that he was not going to find the kind of knowledge and intellectual intrigue he had hoped to find there. Stephen somewhat isolates himself from society in order to complete his transition into an artist due to his need to be free of other's beliefs and ideals. Somewhat of an awakening occurs within Stephen once he realizes his difference from others and accepts it. "Away then: it is time to go. A voice spoke softly to Stephen's lonely heart, bidding him go and telling him that his friendship was coming to an end"(267). Stephen had been semi-torn, but it seems at this point that he has come to terms with the fact that he is not similar to those his age and even his good friend Cranly is too at odds with him. Stephen decides finally that it is better off for all that he live his life very much in solitude where he can pursue what he wants to accomplish without being affected by or offending others.



B.) "My ancestors threw off their language and took another, Stephen said. They allowed a handful of foreigners to subject them. Do you fancy I am going to pay in my own life and person debts they made?"(220).

This quote is yet another example of Stephen's search for independence from the ideals of others. He resents the hypocracy of the Irish society in expecting their youth to fight for Irish independence when it was their ancestors who accepted defeat. Stephen feels that he should not be burdened with the responsibility of fighting for Irish freedom when it was not he who made the choice to give it up. Again this is a matter of Stephen's desire to be given a choice in his fate. Just because he was born in a country does not mean that he should be automatically endowed with its obligations. Stephen remains insistent upon this view despite the fact that his friends are all for Irish independence from England. He denies conformity and holds true to his beliefs throughout the entire novel. Stephen is not affected in the slightest by what his peers think about him and he is not at all reluctant to speak his mind.

This quote really struck me especially in relation to the war currently going on. Stephen does not consider it unpatriotic or disloyal to refuse to fight for Ireland. "No honourable and sincere man, said Stephen, as given up to you his life and his youth and his affections..."(220). Stephen reasons that he is not going to risk his life and sacrifice his youth when no one has ever offered an equivalent sacrifice for him. I think this quote defined Stephen's character by the end of the novel. He had started out unsure of himself and of what he believed in, imprinting upon his family's and friend's beliefs, and gradually developed into his own person throughout the course of the novel. This quote shows Stephen's strength of character and willingness to defend what he believes in.



C.) I really enjoyed the symbolism in this novel and felt that Joyce did an excellent job of thoroughly depicting the stages of Stephen's development. I liked the way the point of view switched from third to first person to represent Stephen's completion into an individual and an artist. I liked the recurring references to the Daedulus myth and birds as symbols of flight and freedom. I also admired Stephen's character in that he fought for what he believed in and genuinely was unaffected by what others thought of him. Stephen had somewhat of a "take me or leave me" type attitude in that he did not really reach out to others or depend on others. I felt Joyce did a really good job of paralleling Stephen's gradual intellectual development with the language and word choice of the novel. Although this novel, in my opinion, was definitely the most difficult to understand out of the novels we have read so far this year, it was also my favorite. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man contained alot of depth and meaning far beyond the surface words. Stephen's theory on esthetics, though very confusing, offered a very valid and thought-provoking question of what one considers beautiful and for what reason. Overall I enjoyed both Joyce's language and style and the message of the novel.