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A portrait of the artist as a young man

Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a portrait of Stephan Dedalus’ turbulent journey through young adulthood into his destined life as an artist. Stephen’s character goes through three major changes throughout the course of the text. The novel is Stephen’s journey from his development as a sensitive child to rebellious young man. There are times when Stephen’s own actions seem to oppose each other: “…a leader afraid of his own authority, proud and sensitive and suspicious…” (96). Stephen is at times socially inept, bullied by his peers, and feels as though he is week. While the stronger side of Stephen bravely stands up for himself and his beliefs. At times, in the novel, Stephen sincerely wants to accept his vocation while at others he uprightly discards religion in order to pursue his life as an artist. In A portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Stephen’s contradictory character and constant li...

Posted by: Alexander Bartfield

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