Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man

Every child becomes an adult—a boy to a man, a girl to a woman. In the novel, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, published in 1916 by an Irish writer, James Joyce illustrates the protagonist, Stephen Dedalus, and his journey to seek for identity. While the title of the novel insinuates that the protagonist is going to become an artist, the novel also portrays Stephen’s sense of isolation that comes from the ambiguity and bewilderment that he experiences with his family, society, and country. As the novel begins, Stephan is still young and because of a lack of knowledge and experience, he fells small and weak. Stephen goes through a severe portrayal of the injustices and intricacy of childhood as a child trying to grasp a clear image of the world; Joyce depicts the impression of a child in a world regulated for adults. When “[Stephen] turned to the flyleaf of the geography and read… Sallins/ Country Kildare/ Ireland/ Europe/ The World/ The Universe,” (Joyce, 13) thinking about the boundaries of the universe, Stephen attempts to identify himself by placing himself in the world by his geographic position. In addition, when he contemplates the overwhelming ideas of God and the limits of his political knowledge, which seems to be so significant to the adults. This shows the reader the isolation Stephen feels as a young child from the world. In short, this essay will analyze how Stephen alienation with his environment affects him to finds his own identity as an artist. During Stephen’s childhood, he feels isolated more in relation to his family and the society. When Stephen encounters into the duty of revealing the rector that Father Dolan has been inequitable with him at the Clongowes Wood College, he comes to a decision not take any actions at one point. “No, it was best to hide out of the way because when you were small and young you could often escape that way,” (48) Stephen thinks about his colleagues in the scene when he is questioned whether he will go

Cited: Books • Joyce, James, John Paul. Riquelme, Hans Walter Gabler, and Walter Hettche. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007. Print. Internet • McGarry, Fearghal. "The Irish War of Independence – A Religious War? Part I." The Irish War of Independence – A Religious War? Part I. WPSHOWER & MOODYGUY, 2010. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. . • "Parnell and Davitt." Irish Identity. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .