Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man

Every child becomes an adulta boy to a spell, 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 passage to become an artist, the novel also portrays Stephens 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 unripe 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 regulate 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 ab kayoed t he 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 lead analyze how Stephen alienation with his environment affects him to finds his own identity as an artist. During Stephens childhood, he feels isolated more(prenominal) 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 non take any actions at atomic number 53 point. No, it was best to hide verboten of the way because when you were small and young you could often escape that way, (48) Stephen thinks about his colleagues in the burst when he is questioned whether he will go to the rector or not. In this scene, Stephen understands the childrens world.He knows that fellows tells him to go, but they would not go themselves (48). However, laterwards he tells the rector about Father Dolan, level(p) though his fellows cheer for Stephens bravery and semi to be here, he soon becomes alone. He was happy and free but he would not be anyway proud with Father Dolan. He would be very quiet and obedient and he wished that he could do something kind for him to show him that he was not proud (51) it states, emphasizing that Stephen knew that nothing would hange and the fact that he felt weak and small after alla sense of isolation from his colleagues and adults. Soon after he experiences the sense of isolation from his colleagues, Stephen is introduced to the change in Dedalus financial situation. Moving into a cheerless foretoken (57) in Dublin with his family, Stephan recognizes that his father is the cause for he is a financial f ailure. This allows Stephen to become self cognizant and acrimonious, humiliated by the change of fortune (58).Illustrating the Dedalus first night in their new hall, where the parlor dispatch would not draw and the half furnished uncarpeted room was bathed in a bare cheerless house (57) makes Stephens heart heavy (57) with the intuition and foreknowledge (57) that it is his father who is responsible for the decline. Furthermore, Stephen starts to feel separated from his father. despite the fact that Simon Dedalus is unsuccessful to manage the familys financial needs, he his somwhat anxious of his childrens quality of education.Yet, Simon lets down in the mouth Stephen by treating Stephens collision with Father Conmeea triumphant moment in Stephens young smellwith a hearty laugh (63) with his friends This event makes Stephen to feel degraded and patronized by his elders, thence starts to isolate himself from his father. Prior to analyzing the relationship between Stephens iso lation to seek for his identity, it is important to note some(prenominal) backgrounds on Ireland.Around the time in which this novel was published, Ireland was colonized by England until April 24, 1916. (Parnell and Davitt) During the period of colonization by the Britain, along with the political tensions between the two nations, there was also a religious tension between the Catholics and the Protestants. Basically, the Catholics, including Joyce, were the Irish who supported Irish license and contrary to this were the Protestants who wished to continue join with Britain. Fearghal McGarry) By the time Joyce was born, the Irish independence movementthe Fenian Movementwas wide-spreading by an Irish ultranationalistic, Charles Stewart Parnell however, his longstanding affair with a married woman caught, causing many followers to reject him as a leader and the Catholic church to condemn him. (Parnell and Davitt) This diachronic event can be seen within the sur spirit of the novel and microscopicly in the Christmas dinner scene when Stephans relatives are discussing about politics. To sum up, such humiliating troubles within the country drive possibly caused Stephen to isolate himself from Ireland.In chapter 3, Joyce describes the isolation of the Catholic boy from his home country, Ireland. Stephen, who has been frequenting prostitutes, has lost faith. Stephens soul was fattening an congealing into a coarse grease, plunging ever deeper in its dull fear into a somber threatening dusk while the remains that was his stood, listless and dishonoured, gazing out of darkened eyes, helpless, perturbed, and human for a bovine god to stare upon, (98) it says, to show the knowingness of Stephens sins and his dishonoured body causes this moment of dull horror.Because Stephen feels sinful, it triggers him to dream of hell, a field of stiff weeds and thistles and tufted nettle-buncheswith knock about canisters and clots and coils of solid excrement. (120) And the narrator continues, An evil smell, faint and foul as the light, curled upwards sluggishly out of the canisters and from the stale crusted dung, (120) giving the reader grotesque scenery with, Goatish creatures with human faces, hornybrowed, lightly bearded and colour as indiarubberthat moves in the field, hither and in that location (120).The goats wandering in this scene are symbols of animalistic, primal, and bestial agriculture of Ireland that manipulates the youths with language. As well as the murmuring sounds and the soft language (120) of the goats, the usage of the repetition of hither and thither also represents the hollow voices that are spoken from the adults to Stephen to become an Irishmen.Joyce claims that this culture of Ireland, adults bringing up children with hollow voices, have been rooted long ago and will be everlasting, which can be seen as he describes the goats, moving in slow circles, circling closer and closer to enclose, their long swishing tail besmear ed with stale shite, thrusting upwards their terrific face (120). Recognizing Ireland as a dead country, Stephen begins to show clear detachment from his country. Stephens schoolmate, Mat Davin insists Stephen to become one of us, to declare his Irish nationality and to stop searching for potentials from England and France of artistic muse.In a revealing conversation, Davin asks Stephen if he is even Irish. Here, Davin comprehends an Irishmen as a nationalist who desires Ireland to become independent from England, the colonizer. In other words, Davin way of life being united with the people rather than standing back from them with a sneer. On the other hand, for Stephen, though, being Irish means being all that he is, containing all the contradictions of a colonized subject. The soul is born, Stephen said vaguely, first in those moments I told you of. It has a slow and dark birth, more mysterious than the birth of the body.When the soul of a man is born in this country there are ne ts flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of nationality, language, religion. I shall try to fly by those nets, (179) Stephen says, explaining the chances taken he is aware of as an heir in Ireland to his nationalist colleague, Davin. Rather than viewing the Fenian Movement as a potential for artistic inspiration, Stephen inspects the situation of Irish life as a downside. Stephen gradually becomes emotional through this conversation and initiate to treat it quite roughly, as he questions Davin, Do you know what Ireland is? asked Stephen with cold violence. Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow, (179). Here, Stephan metaphorically stresses that Ireland destroys its won children a fate he wishes to avoid. Therefore, Irelands thwarted sense of nationhood devours Irishmen. To sum up, for Stephen, Ireland is a trap, restricting his independence and identity. In the last sections of the novel, Stephens seems to have settled his mind and ascetics about the world, a nd ready to isolate himself from his pastfamily, friends, , Irelandto gain freedom.When Stephen has a conversion with Cranly, Stephens best friend at the university, Stephen says, Look here, Cranly, you have asked me what I would do and what I would not do. I will tell you wat I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I allow myself to use silence, exile, and cunning. (218) Here, finally, Stephen demonstrates a clear and precise understanding of who he is. He is defined by his artistic goals and by his idealistic ambition to be true to his beliefs. While Joyce ends the novel at the point where Stephen departs from Ireland, this may be an interesting question for the reader to consider of after leaving his country, how will Stephen see his hom e country when time passes? Work Cited Books Joyce, James, tin 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. lucre McGarry, Fearghal. The Irish fight of Independence a A Religious War? Part I. The Irish War of Independence a A Religious War? Part I. WPSHOWER & MOODYGUY, 2010. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. . Parnell and Davitt. Irish Identity. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. .