ANALYSIS FILE English Narrative in the 20th and 21st centuries

Title: A Portrait of the Artist

Author: James Joyce
Original date of publication: 1916

BIOGRAPHY OF JAMES JOYCE

James Joyce (1882-1941) was born in Dublin, Ireland, on February 2, 1882. Joyce's life was
marked by migration and economic hardship, living in various European cities such as Trieste
and Zurich. His best known work is "Ulysses" ), a novel published in 1922, famous for its
experimental style, complex narrative and thematic depth.

Joyce is considered one of the leading exponents of literary modernism. Literary

modernism, originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is characterized by a
self-conscious separation from traditional ways of writing in both poetry and prose fiction
writing.

His innovative approach included the use of the interior monologue technique,
experimentation with time and nonlinear narrative, and the incorporation of multiple
perspectives.

To this purpose he used a narrative technique known as “stream-of-consciousness” that seeks

to depict a character's inner thoughts and feelings in a seamless and uninterrupted manner.

Structure
(Describe how the book is structured: Parts, books, chapters, etc., and comment on it if appropriate.)
A Portrait of the Artist is divided into five chapters. Each chapter deals with a different
period in the first twenty years of the central character, Stephen Dedalus. Each also addresses
a specific theme related to Stephen's development as an artist.

Plot (Give the plot of the book in no more than 15 lines.)

A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN (1916)

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As we said, the novel is written in a modernist style, specifically as an "artist's novel". It's a
narrative that focuses from the artist's growth to his maturity.

The first chapter of the novel shows the growth of the protagonist from his early childhood.
In the initial scene, Simon Dedalus tells his young son, Stephen, the protagonist, a children's
story about a "little fellow called baby tuckoo" and a "cow-moo." Then, the narrative also
focuses on Stephen's auditory and sensory impressions of childhood: the coldness of the
sheets, the smell of his mother.

We are shown an innocent Stephen, a blank slate ready to be molded by social and religious
conventions.

Later on, Stephen expresses his intention to marry his neighbor. His mother forces him to
retract because of this, and Dante adds that she says if he doesn't apologize "the eagles will
come and pull out his eyes" Then, the story shifts to Stephen's school experience at College.
Stephen watches other classmates play ball but he doesn't participate. Some classmates ask
him about his social class and want to know if his father is a magistrate. The school reflects
the classism and injustices of the Irish state itself. Stephen counts the days until he can come
back home. He doesn't like school. He doesn't like what society has conditioned him to be.

Events (Choose an event which is essential for the understanding of the story and two which are not
so. Explain your choice.)

We have chosen two events to analyze.

“The Vances lived in number seven. They had a different father and mother. They
were Eileen’s father and mother. When they were grown up he was going to marry
Eileen. He hid under the table. His mother said:
—O, Stephen will apologise.
Dante said:
—O, if not, the eagles will come and pull out his eyes.”

In this event it's implied that his family doesn't accept that their son marries a girl who isn't
Catholic, they condition him even though he is a child and urge him to think that it's a sin.
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We understand that their neighbors are Protestants in this fragment “They had a different
father and mother”
Now the other event:

“And his father had told him if he wanted anything to write home to him and, whatever
he did, never to peach on a fellow”

Despite being a child, his father already advises him to keep his mouth shut and not meddle
in other people's affairs. This has a classist connotation since children from very wealthy
families attend that school. Stephen understands the power relationships that exist in society
through this advice.

Setting (Describe the setting of the story.)

The setting is in Ireland, specifically the late 19th century and early 20th century, in a
conservative and Catholic society..

When Joyce was growing up, Ireland had been under British rule since the 16th century, and
tensions between Ireland and Britain were really high since the potato famine of the 1840s.
There were religious tensions too: the majority of the Irish, including the Joyces, were
Catholic and strongly in favor of Irish independence. The Protestant minority wished to stay
with Britain.

Finally, in 1919, the war for Irish independence broke out.

Characters and characterization

Main and secondary characters
(Classify the characters into main and secondary)

The main characters are the next ones

● Stephen Dedalus, The novel reflects the tension between tradition and modernity in
Ireland during that period, as well as Stephen's individual struggle to find his place in
the world as an artist.

It's important to understand that Stephen is the representation of the author himself,
James Joyce. Stephen Dedalus is the main character in several of Joyce's novels.
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Dedalus comes from dédalo. In classical mythology, Daedalus was the builder of the
Cretan labyrinth (El laberinto de Creta).

We felt that Joyce wanted to draw a parallel between Daedalus's talent for building and
Stephen's talent for writing.

● Father and Mother. They are very important in Stephen's life, since they try to
condition his life, especially when it comes to religion and school.

Among the secondary characters of the first chapter we have

● Uncle Charles and Dante. Stephen's relatives who are present in his childhood, so
they must have influenced him.
● The Vances. The Protestant neighbors.
● Rody Kickham, Nasty Roche and Cantwell: they are his classmates.

Characterization
(Choose at least one character and analyse how he/she is presented in the book; give examples)
We have chosen his mother in order to analyze how is she presented in the book

His mother is an important character throughout the work. Indirectly we can see that she is a
very controlling mother, however she is also extremely maternal.

In the first chapter she appears several times, for example in this fragment

When you wet the bed, first its warm then it gets cold. His mother put on the oilsheet.
That had the queer smell.
His mother had a nicer smell than his father. She played on the piano the sailor’s
hornpipe for him to dance. He danced:

Tralala lala,

In this fragment, we understand that his mother is probably a housewife, and that she takes
care of Stephen most of the time. She loves her son very much and tries to make him happy
with music.

However, despite being just a child, his mother scolds him when Stephen says he wants to
marry Eileen, the Protestant neighbor, this makes us see that his mother is very religious, to
the point of telling her son that he should "apologize".

That was not a nice expression. His mother had told him not to speak with the rough
boys in the college. Nice mother! The first day in the hall of the castle when she had said
goodbye she had put up her veil double to her nose to kiss him: and her nose and eyes
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were red. But he had pretended not to see that she was going to cry. She was a nice
mother but she was not so nice when she cried.

In this fragment we can see that his mother wants to control her son even in his friendships,
forbidding him to hang out with people who don't benefit Stephen academically. Surely his
mother is also classist as she deduces that naughty children can lead her son "astray". His
mother is on the verge of crying because of the goodbye with her son, Stephen pretends not
to notice, and despite the fact that he knows she is a good mother, he accepts that she is
usually not when she cries, maybe his mother tends to victimize herself when Stephen
doesnt listen to her.

In conclusion, thanks to all these fragments from chapter one, we can deduce that although
Stephen has grown up with a warm mother who loves and cares for him, her obsession with
him and her controlling attitude make Stephen feel overwhelmed and he seeks more space for
himself, so although he doesn’t like school, at least he has more space for himself. His
mother aspires for her son to be the prototypical perfect child, a religious and studious one,
and even though he is still a child, Stephen is already feeling the weight of that responsibility.
You could say that Stephen's mother is the Irish prototype of a Catholic mother.

Time
(Analyse the use of time –in the book in general or in some chosen fragments– regarding order, duration and
frequency. Give examples.)
The book was first published as a serialized in The Egoist magazine between 1914 and 1915,
and as a book in 1916.

The play narrates the life of Stephen Dedalus from childhood to youth. In this specific
fragment from the Chapter I, we have details of his early years and childhood.

Analepsis (Flashback):
- The story begins with the narration of a fairy-tale, setting up a narrative that goes back in
time to tell of Stephen's childhood. "Once upon a time and a very good time it was there
was a moocow coming down along the road..."

Analepsis:

- “And one day he had asked…” (l. 49-50),

- “One day a fellow said…” (l. 64)

Anticipation:
- "Soon they would be going home for the holidays." (l.87)

The reference to the holidays symbolises a change in time.

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Focalization / Point of view

(Choose at least two fragments in the book and explain how focalization works in them.)

The play has an internal focalization in third-person. The narrator tells the perspective and
thoughts of the main character, Stephen Dedalus, but using the third person.

The choice of this focus allows the reader to gain an intimate understanding of Stephen's
thoughts and perceptions while maintaining some narrative distance. This aligns with the
stream-of-consciousness technique used by Joyce to explore the complexity of Stephen's
mind and his experiences over time.

Narration
(Say what type of narrator(s) can be found in the book and the degree of overtness or covertness. Give
examples.)
The narrator is extradiegetic, and does not take part in the story so it is also heterodiegetic.

Both characteristics compound an omniscient narrator.

The narrator shares Stephen's thoughts and emotions, such as when he says:
- "his mother had a nicer smell than his father" (l. 14)
- "when they were older he was going to marry Eileen" (l. 26),
- "she was a good mother" (l.73).

Speech representation
(Give at least two examples of diegetic and mimetic speech representation in the book; explain them.)
The author employs different speech techniques, combining free indirect discourse/speech
and also direct speech.

The author uses direct dialogue scenes and narrates Stephen’s actions without directly
quoting his words. For example, the conversation between Stephen and Nasty Roche
introduced by a direct dialogue.

—What is your father? (l. 56)

Stephen had answered:
—A gentleman.
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Then Nasty Roche had asked:

—Is he a magistrate? (l. 60)

This directly present the characters' spoken words, providing insight into their relationships
and the development of the narrative.

"He crept about from point to point on the fringe of his line, making little runs now and
then." (l.61)

Here the narrator adopts Stephen's perspective, mimicking his manner of thought and
expression. It captures the style and tone of Stephen's actions without directly quoting his
words.

Style
(Choose at least a fragment from the book –approximately a page – and analyse its style by using some
elements from the ‘checklist of linguistic and stylistic categories’ provided.)

At the beginning of the play, the author uses words like "moocow", "baby tuckoo", or
mispronounced words like "wothe botheth", to describe Stephen's infancy.

There is a kind of "metaphor" in which the protagonist becomes aware of himself through the
story his father is telling him. "He was baby tuckoo" (l. 6).

The author uses simple and short phrases at the beginning of the play such as "When you wet
the bed first it is watm then it gets cold” (l. 12), "His mother put on the oilsheet" (l.12-13),
which relate to Stephen's young age and limited awareness at that age.

As the protagonist grows up, the author uses more elaborate and descriptive phrases such as
"The evening air was pale and chilly (...) the greasy leather orb flew like a heavy bird
through the grey light"(l. 40-42).

The repetition of the rhythm of the song through the words "tralala" creates a musical pattern
in the text, giving the work a poetic and expressive tone.

References used
(If applicable.)
https://opentextbc.ca/englishliterature/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2014/10/To-the-Lighthous
e-Etext-Edited.pdf
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