James Joyces A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man :: James Joyce Portrait Artist Young Man Papers

James Joyces A portrayal of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyces novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) is entirely implicated with the development of its main character, Stephen Dedalus. By comparison with Joyces earlier version, Stephen Hero 1, we draw that he has cut out all extraneous material concerning early(a) characters, and presented a close and detailed account of the development of Stephens character from infancy to young manhood, the ground previously covered in Stephen Hero existence compressed into Chapter 5 of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The most important aspects of Stephens early development go on internally, and Joyce takes us right inside his mind so that we can check out the intellectual and emotional development going on behind the surface. The depression chapter portrays Stephen as an individual alienated from his social environment, and experiencing encounters with authorities which will re-emerge in various guises througho ut the book. We see the beginnings of this process in the initial page and a half, and the patterns of behaviour and relationships shown here ar repeated throughout the chapter. This opening section is almost a microcosm of the chapter and perhaps of the whole novel. Stephen has an visceral drive towards rebellion. As a young child he plans to link up a Protestant girl from his neighbourhood, and when his mother and Aunt Dante scold him for this he defiantly hides under the table. This instinctive drive stays with him throughout the book, until, in the fifth and final chapter, he presents his defiant stead in board intellectual terms with his statement I will not serve . . . (p.247)Stephens ungovernable attitude is necessary in order for him to preserve his own beliefs and determine in the face of authorities which try to make him conform, but at that place is also a strong flavour of martyrdom about his attitude which is shown in an early fantasy in which Stephen identifi es himself with the Irish politician Charles Parnell. We are also reminded of this throughout the book when we remember that Joyce chose the name Stephen to associate him with Stephen the first Christian martyr.The first authorities Stephen encounters are father, mother, Dante, and Uncle Charles. He associates his mother with a nice smell, and his relationship with her might be described as ace of artistic response she plays the piano and he dances.