A Portrait of the artist as a young man

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3. 3. • The full name of James Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) is James
Augustine Aloysius Joyce. • He is an early 20th century Irish novelist and poet. •
Joyce is one of the pioneers of ‘stream of consciousness’ technique in novel and a
new type of poetry called ‘Prose Poem’. • He is one of the most influential writers in
the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century also. • He used the style of ‘the
examination of big events through small happenings in everyday lives’. 3
4. 4. • Joyce was a polyglot. While serving as a teacher of English in Italy around 1904,
he learned Italian. • It was one of 17 languages he could speak, a list that included
Arabic, Sanskrit, and Greek. • In 1914 he published his first book, Dubliners, a
collection of 15 short stories. • In 1916,he published his second book ‘A Portrait of
the artist as a young man’. • The publication history was not pleasing to Joyce. No
English publisher wanted to publish it. 4
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6. 6. • However, Ezra Pound, the noted American poet came to his help and got the book
published by an American Publishing House. • The book was originally published as
a newspaper serial and its title was ‘Stephen Dedalous’ after the name of its hero. • At
the advice of Ezra Pound, Joyce changed the title to ‘A Portrait of the artist as a young
man’. • It was not a commercial success. But it definitely created a permanent place
for Joyce. • Ezra Pound praised its style and voice. 6
7. 7. Style of narration:- • The style of narration of the novel is called ‘Stream of
consciousness technique’. • Another stylistic technique for which Joyce is noted is the
epiphany. An epiphany reveals a moment in which a character makes a sudden,
profound realization—whether prompted by an external object or a voice from
within—that creates a change in his or her perception of the world. Joyce uses
epiphany most notably in Dubliners, but A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is
full of these sudden moments of spiritual revelation as well. 7
8. 8. Icarus was the son of Daedalus, the highly respected and talented Athenian artisan.
Both of them were imprisoned in the labyrinth. To come out Daedalus managed two
big wings and attached them to their shoulders with wax. He taught the art of flying
like birds to Icarus, but told him not to go closure to the Sun as the sunlight would
melt the wax. Defying Daedalus’s warning, adventurous Icarus started flying and had
gone very close to the Sun. Wax melted and Icarus had to embrace death. This was
the first flight of man. 8
9. 9. Genre:- The novel is called a Künstlerroman meaning "artist's novel" in German. It
is a narrative about an artist's growth to maturity. • In general, this type of novels are
called ‘fictional autobiography’ or a Bildungsroman. • More accurately it may be
classified as a specific subgenre of Bildungsroman where a novel, tends to depict the
conflicts of a sensitive youth against the values of a middle and upper class society of
his or her time. • Joyce traces the religious and intellectual awakening of young
Stephen Dedalus, a fictional alter ego of Joyce himself and an allusion to Daedalus,
the consummate craftsman of Greek Mythology. 9
10. 10. • Point of view · Although most of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is in
the third person, the point of view is Stephen's: as Stephen develops as a person, the
language and perspective of the narration develop with him. We see everything in the
manner in which he thinks and feels it. At the very end of the novel, there is a brief
 section in which the story is told through Stephen's diary entries. This section is in the
first person. • Narrator: The narrator is anonymous. 10
11. 11. Opener:- • The opening sentence of ‘A portrait of the artist as a young man’ is
considered one of the most memorable openers in English novel. It reads--‘Once upon
a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road
and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named
baby tuckoo...’ 11
12. 12. • Plot/Story:- • ‘A portrait of the artist as a young man’ takes place in Ireland at
the turn of the century. Young Stephen Dedalus comes from an Irish Catholic family;
he is the oldest of ten children, and his father is financially inept. Throughout the
novel, the Dedalus family makes a series of moves into increasingly dilapidated
homes as their fortunes dwindle. His mother is a devout Catholic. When Stephen is
young, he and the other Dedalus children are tutored by the governess Dante, a
fanatically Catholic woman. Their Uncle Charles also lives with the family. The book
opens with stream of consciousness narrative filtered through a child's perspective;
there is sensual imagery, and words approximating baby talk. We leap forward in time
to see young Stephen beginning boarding school at Clongowes. [Link:
www.gradesaver.com] 12
13. 13. • He is very young, terribly homesick, un-athletic and socially awkward. He is an
easy target for bullies, and one day he is pushed into a cesspool. He becomes ill from
the filthy water, but he remembers what his father told him and doesn't tell on the boy.
That Christmas, he eats at the adult table for the first time. A terrible argument erupts
over politics, with John Casey and Stephen's father on one side and Dante on the
other. Later that year, Stephen is unjustly hit by a prefect. He complains to the rector,
winning the praises of his peers. . [Link: www.gradesaver.com] 13
14. 14. • Stephen is forced to withdraw from Clongowes because of his family's poverty.
The family moves to Blackrock, where Stephen takes long walks with Uncle Charles
and goes on imaginary adventures with boys from around the neighbourhood. When
Stephen is a bit older, the family moves to Dublin, once again because of financial
difficulties. He meets a girl named Emma Clere, who is to be the object of his
adoration right up until the end of the book. His father, with a bit of charm, manages
to get Stephen back into private school. He is to go to Belvedere College, another
institution run by the Jesuits. . • [Link: www.gradesaver.com] 14
15. 15. • Stephen comes into his own at Belvedere, a reluctant leader and a success at
acting and essay writing. Despite his position of leadership, he often feels quite
isolated. He continues to be a sensitive and imaginative young man, acting in school
plays and winning essay contests. He is also increasingly obsessed with sex; his
fantasies grow more and more lurid. Finally, one night he goes with a prostitute. It is
his first sexual experience. • Going with prostitutes becomes a habit. Stephen enters a
period of spiritual confession. He considers his behavior sinful, but he feels oddly
indifferent towards it. He cannot seem to stop going to prostitutes, nor does he want to
stop. But during the annual spiritual retreat at Belvedere, he hears three fire sermons
on the torments of hell. Stephen is terrified, and he repents of his old behavior. He
becomes almost fanatically religious. . • [Link: www.gradesaver.com] 15
16. 16. • After a time, this feeling passes. He becomes increasingly frustrated by Catholic
doctrine. When a rector suggests that he consider becoming a priest, Stephen realizes
that it is not the life for him. One day, while walking on the beach, he sees a beautiful
girl. Her beauty hits him with the force of spiritual revelation, and he no longer feels
ashamed of admiring the body. He will live life to the fullest. • The next time we see
Stephen, he is a student at university. University has provided valuable structure and
 new ideas to Stephen: in particular, he has had time to think about the works of
Aquinas and Aristotle on the subject of beauty. [Link: www.gradesaver.com] 16
17. 17. • Stephen has developed his own theory of aesthetics. He is increasingly
preoccupied with beauty and art. Although he has no shortage of friends, he feels
isolated. He has come to regard Ireland as a trap, and he realizes that he must escape
the constraints of nation, family, and religion. He can only do that abroad. Stephen
imagines his escape as something parallel to the flight of Dedalus, he escaped from
his prison with wings crafted by his own genius. The book ends with Stephen leaving
Ireland to pursue the life of a writer. [Link: www.gradesaver.com] 17
18. 18. • Q.1.How is Stephen influenced by his Irish nationality? • Ans. Stephen has a
conflicted relationship to his Irish nationality, largely because of the fact that his
family and friends have conflicting political views about Ireland and its independence.
On one hand, Stephen's governess, Dante, is proud of the church and disdainful of
Irish leaders like Parnell. On the other hand, Mr. Dedalus and John Casey see Parnell
as the only hope for a free Ireland. Stephen's friends also stand on opposing sides of
the question. Influenced by these divergent opinions, Stephen, though eager to leave
Ireland by the end of the novel, is also inextricably tied to it. He feels that Ireland has
always been at the mercy of other nations, just as he has always been bound by
outside influences. When Stephen leaves, it is to forge the conscience of the Irish
race—a project that, ironically, he feels he can accomplish only by leaving his native
island behind. [Link: www.sparknotes.com] 18
19. 19. • Q.2. Discuss Joyce's use of religious imagery and language. Why are Father
Arnall's three sermons so successful in overcoming Stephen's religious doubt? • Ans.
Father Arnall's sermons touch Stephen at his core because they resonate with both
Stephen's cultural background and his preoccupation with aesthetics. At the time
when Father Arnall delivers his sermons, Stephen is struggling with the exact issues
the priest addresses: the overwhelming strength of sinful emotions and the fear of
being punished for them. When Father Arnall speaks, he validates and solidifies
Stephen's vague concerns about morality and heavenly punishment. The cultural
context in which Stephen has been raised creates an intolerable tension between his
desire for various freedoms and his desire to meet the moral requirements placed upon
him. • Additionally, Stephen, who is closely attentive to the sensory world around
him, particularly connects with Father Arnall's vivid portraits of the sensory
experience of being in hell. In addition to focusing on spiritual tortures, the priest
describes the raw pain and grotesqueness of hell, painting a moral and religious
punishment in emotional and aesthetic terms. As Stephen is just awakening to the
power of such emotions and aesthetics, Father Arnall's sermons have a particular
resonance for him. Stephen's conversion to devout religiousness is, however, only
temporary. The same tools father Arnall uses to such great effect in his sermons soon
convert Stephen from a would-be priest of religion to a confirmed priest of art. [Link:
www.sparknotes.com] 19
20. 20. • Q.3.What role does Stephen's burgeoning sexuality play in his development as a
character? How does his Catholic morality complicate his experience of sexuality? •
Ans. Stephen's early life is dominated by moral restrictions embedded in the society
and family environment surrounding him, and his coming-of-age process involves
confronting and dismantling these restrictions. Stephen grows up enthralled by the
hierarchies and rituals of school and church, a structure in which his growing
adolescent lust is not acknowledged or validated. His newfound sexuality is so alien,
in fact, that he initially fails to recognize it, and it is not until he falls into the arms of
the prostitute that he realizes what he has been longing for. The encounter with the
 prostitute awakens Stephen to a side of his character that has until then been hidden.
The encounter symbolizes not only his awakening sexuality, but more generally, his
awakening to the power of emotion and art. It also illustrates his extremely polarized
conception of women: on the one hand are prostitutes with whom he can express his
feelings of sexual desire, and on the other are revered, distant, near saintly figures
such as Emma, whom he loves from afar but can never approach. • [Link:
www.sparknotes.com] 20
21. 21. • Q.5.Compare and contrast Stephen's perception of art with his perception of
religion, family, school, or country. What makes art such an appealing escape for
Stephen? • Ans. For Stephen, art offers an escape from the constraints of religion,
family, school, and country. Constrained by his surroundings and even his own self-
imposed restraints, he looks to art as an independent, abstract realm where he can
create a world that suits him. Stephen's obsession with aesthetic theory indicates that,
for him, art is an abstract idea. Unlike the abstractions of religion, however, the
abstractions of art are tied to the emotions with which Stephen struggles. In his love
poem "To E— C—," for instance, he finds an outlet both for his aesthetic leanings
and for the emotions that he is too restrained—or afraid—to express. • Link:
www.sparknotes.com] 21
22. 22. • Q.6.Why does Stephen turn down the offer to become a Jesuit? • Ans. Religion
is Stephen's life up until the point when he is offered the possibility of entering the
Jesuit order. After confessing his sins, he has tried to purify himself, and his superiors
notice this remarkable devotion. It would seem that an offer to join the Jesuits is the
perfect culmination of a life that, aside from occasional lapses such as liaisons with
prostitutes, has been destined for religion. Stephen, however, rejects the Jesuit offer as
soon as it is made. Joyce suggests that Stephen clings to religion not because it is his
calling, but merely as a source of stability within his turbulent life. He uses religion in
an attempt to erect a barrier against the emotions that rage within him. Furthermore,
Stephen has a strong aesthetic objection to the idea of being a priest, an objection that
is emphasized by the washed-out character of the priest who offers him the position.
Even if the religious life appeals to Stephen on a religious or abstract level, the idea of
walking, dressing, talking, and living like a priest is aesthetically unpleasant. At this
point in the novel, Stephen's aesthetic inclinations have become so strong that he
almost inevitably rejects anything that contradicts these aesthetic values. Linl:
www.sparknotes.com] 22
23. 23. Facts to know:- • 1.James Joyce was born in nineteenth century Ireland • 2 Joyce
was an important pioneer of the narrative technique known as stream of consciousness
• 3. The name "Dedalus" makes allusion to the mythological figure who flew too
close to the sun and drowned in the ocean • 4. James Joyce was raised in a family that
was deeply Catholic • 5. In 1922, James Joyce published a book that some hail as the
greatest masterpiece of twentieth century English literature. That book was Ulysses •
6. When describing the opening of this novel, one is most likely to talk about Sensual
imagery and stream of consciousness • 7. Stephen's father is financially inept • 8.
Stephen is the oldest of roughly ten children 23
24. 24. • 9. As a young boy, Stephen attends the Jesuit school of Clongowes. • 10. As a
young boy, Stephen is unathletic and shy. • 11. Two traits that the child Stephen has
that he will keep for the rest of his life are his imagination and sensitivity. • 12. At
Clongowes, Stephen is picked on by a bully named Wells. • 13. One day, Stephen is
attacked by the bully named Wells, who pushes Stephen into a cesspool. • 14. While
in the clinic at Clongowes, Stephen is cared for by Brother Michael. • 15. While in the
 clinic at Clongowes, Stephen has the paper read to him. He hears about the death of
Charles Parnell. 24
25. 25. • 16. At Christmas dinner, Stephen witnesses an argument between his father and
John Casey on one side and Dante on the other • 17. The argument is over Charles
Parnell • 18. One day in a Latin class, Stephen is excused from studying because he
has broken his glasses. The prefect Father Dolan accuses Stephen of breaking them on
purpose and beats. • 19. Stephen has to withdraw from Clongowes because of his
father's financial ineptitude. • 20. The Dedalus family moves to the town of
Blackrock. • 21.Stephen takes long walks with his old Uncle Charles. • 22. In his new
neighborhood, Stephen befriends a boy named Aubrey Mills. • 23. As a young boy,
Stephen reads and is enraptured by The Count of Monte Cristo. • 24. Stephen's father
manages to get Stephen back into private school. He is to attend Belvedere. • 25.
Stephen falls in love with a girl named Emma Cler.e 25
26. 26. Objective Questions & Answers:- • i. What does Stephen's father call him as a
child? • Ans. Baby tuckoo • ii. Where does Stephen attend school as a child? • Ans.
Clongowes • iii. Why do John Casey and Dante argue at Stephen's first Christmas
dinner at the adult table? • Ans.Casey supports Parnell and Dante is against him •
iv.Why does Father Dolan whip Stephen during Latin class? • Ans.Stephen is not
doing his work because his glasses are broken. 26
27. 27. • v.How does Father Conmee respond to Stephen's request that he talk to Father
Dolan about his punishment in Latin class? • Ans.He promises to talk to Father Dolan.
• vi.What does Mike Flynn try to teach Stephen to do? • Ans.Run • vii.With which
novel does Stephen fall in love? • Ans.The Count of Monte Cristo • Viii.To whom
does Stephen write his first love poem? • Ans."E—C—" • ix.Which two colors does
Stephen associate with Dante? • Ans.Green and maroon. • x.Which character smokes
"black twists" of tobacco? • Ans.Uncle Charles 27
28. 28. • xi.Why do Stephen and his father travel to Cork? • Ans.To sell some things at an
auction • xii.Why is Stephen embarrassed of his father when they visit Cork? •
Ans.Simon gets drunk and nostalgic • xiii.What does Stephen do to win prize money?
• Ans.He wins an essay prize • xiv.What does Stephen do with his prize money? •
Ans.He spends it on his family • xv.In what city does Stephen first have sex with a
prostitute? • Ans.Dublin • xvi.How does Stephen react to having slept with a
prostitute? • Ans.He feels alienated and anguished 28
29. 29. • xvii.Where does Stephen hear Father Arnall give his sermons on hell? • Ans.At a
three-day Belvedere retreat • xviiiWhat is Stephen's reaction to Father Arnall's
sermons? • Ans.He confesses his sins • xix.Who suggests to Stephen that he might
become a member of the Jesuit order? • Ans.The director of Belvedere • xx.What
sight makes Stephen realize that he wants to dedicate himself to art? • Ans.A girl on
the beach • xxi.Instead of becoming a Jesuit, what does Stephen do? • Ans.He attends
university 29
30. 30. • xxii.Which of Stephen's friends at the university is staunchly patriotic? •
Ans.Davin • xxiii.What is one of the basic distinctions of Stephen's aesthetic theory? •
Ans.Static vs. kinetic art • xxiv.Which of the following lists corresponds to one of the
distinctions made in Stephen's aesthetic theory? • Ans.Epical, lyrical, and dramatic •
xxv.What ceremony does Cranly try to convince Stephen to attend, for his mother's
sake? • Ans.Easter Mass [Link: www.sparknotes.com] 30
31. 31. Trivia on Joyce’s style:- i. James Joyce created nine 101 letters words in his novel
Finnegan’s Wake. The most famous one is---
‘Abababcbohebrbhetbfbmm`gbrrdggfdggard
ggtdgglrrdggtudggteuggtrdvbrredugbwgsfbw gtddeddeddrclglgteurguf’. It occurs in
the opening page. ii. Joyce’s novel and magnum opus ‘Ulysses’ once contained the
longest sentence in English Literature having 4319 words. 31