Rating: 
Summary: A portrait examined...
Review: James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a fascinating tale, woven with a fresh stream-of-consciousness style that follows the thoughts of the artist, Stephen Dedalus, from childhood to adolescence to eventual maturity. Although written in the third-person, the prose evolves in a first-person fashion with Stephen, from his youthful contemplation of "wild rose blossoms on the little green place" to his fully adult conception of "the virgin womb of the imagination" wherein "the word was made flesh" (1, 158). In addition to the progressive complexity of the ideas, repetition of symbols-the colors of governess Dante's brushes, black dirty mazes, soaring birds, earthy peasant smells-also tie the flowing text together, providing reference, cohesiveness and depth. Rich imagery and symbolism give this deceptively simple tale added meaning, expanding the story from that of a single struggling artist to a sweeping metaphor for the human desire to create.
Stephen Dedalus is a contradictory character, full of ambiguities and internal oppositions. He dreams of classic-book heroes and innocent virginal heroines within his room, yet seeks prostitutes on the solid dark mazes of the city streets. He yearns to find and embrace God and religion, almost reaching the priesthood itself-then denies his faith entirely. He loves his country, his mother, his friends, but forsakes them all in pursuit of his artistic vision. These many dissimilar aspects of Stephen seem bound together only by his passion for writing, his inner yearning to see, to create. Like the Daedalus of the Greek myth, who created beautiful wings to escape a twisted labyrinth of his own design, Stephen finds a freedom, exhilaration in his capacity to write beauty. As he matures, his visions of lovely birds replace the austere confines of the religious bench and his ability to imagine soars above his need for family, friends, and church until he is torn free from his old life entirely, flying unfettered into boundless skies of his art.
Yet in the Greek myth, there are two who manage to fly from the maze-Daedalus, the creator of wings and labyrinth both, and his youthful son, Icarus. Icarus, excited by his freedom from the dark confines of the maze, soars higher, higher, in spite of his father's warnings, until the dazzle of the sun melts the wax of his wings and sends him plunging, helpless, to his doom. Daedalus himself survives, a witness to the death of his son, alone and a fugitive, a man who has lost all in pursuit of his art. Stephen himself could be either of the two mythical figures-by the end of the book he is still young, unproven, his creative ideas barely starting to take form. His youthful foibles could be tempered with time, maturity guiding him to unseen distant shores, or his pride could expand, lifting him into the deadly rays of the sun. Joyce never makes clear the fate of the youthful protagonist within the novel-by the end, Stephen has barely started his flight from the dark maze of his old life on the wings of his art, the feathers still fresh and firmly attached to the newly-made frame, his course uncertain. Yet in his glorious discovered wings lies a hint of all humanity, the portion of mankind with a driving urge to create, to lift voice, pen, brush in the pursuit of liberty and beauty. Through the lens of that wide backdrop, that significance, Joyce's novel captures a harsh reality and contrasts it with imagination wonder in a powerful portrait well worth examining.
Rating: 
Summary: one of the best books of the twentieth century
Review: "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is easily one of the greatest books of the twentieth century. Rarely is such a mastery of the English language encountered. James Joyce has an almost uncanny ability to create images and feelings out of words. He manages to describe a place and also the feelings of the main character when he's in that place with teh same set of words.
The story itself is almost inconsequential. As I read it I was so caught up in Stephen's self-destructive spiral that I could never pass any sort of moral judgement. I had to like Stephen because he was so human. His dilemmas and his emotions were so real, and Joyce was able to bring them to life with his words.
As a previous reviewer has said, it is true that to understand certain parts of the book, it helps to have a little background on Irish politics at the turn of the century (or at least know who Parnell is) but a few minutes of internet research will do that for you. As for strange words and slang, the language becomes more elevated as Stephen grows up (a touch of genius, if you ask me) so that's not really much of a problem. Stephen's final break with tradition as he answers the call of Daedalus, his namesake, is magnificent to read. All in all, this book is definitely worth the read.
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Summary: The Masterpice
Review: A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man is a gripping novel about a boy's coming of age and struggle of growing up in Ireland. It's most often seen as James Joyce's life in retrospect. This book is about Stephen Dedalus' struggle with growing up, fitting in with society, and questions about religion.
It begins as Stephen recounts his early years beginning at the age of six and attending the prestigious Congowes Boarding School. His parents are always in debt and barely scraped enough money to send him there. He goes to Belvedere College the next year because his parents can no longer afford to send him to that school. There he excels in writing and acting, yet does not have the religious fervency that his mother has, nor the political passion his father possesses. He longs for someone to understand him. He doesn't have many friends, yet longs to fit in. He happens to fall into the arms of a prostitute, and therefore goes through with his first sexual encounter. Afterward he feels the hot shame of his sins and momentarily embraces Catholicism. He desperately wants forgiveness of his sins when he goes to a church retreat for his school. There the priest preaches about the damnation of hell and repentance. Stephen feels that the sermons are directed to him and goes to confess his sins to a priest who could care less. He continues to go to Mass everyday, and later his sins come back to him and he feels as though his confession was not legitimate. A priest from his school notices his newfound piety, and asks him if he would think seriously about becoming a priest. Stephen later goes to a beach to think and suddenly an epiphany happens before his eyes. He's seriously contemplating the action of becoming a priest when he sees a beautiful girl standing in the water. As he walks away from her, he realizes that it is not a bad thing to want the beautiful things in life. Everything in Ireland is now frustrating him, and he concludes that the only way that he could be happy is to leave Ireland and become an artist. There is a lot of symbolism with birds. Dedalus is a person in Greek mythology whose father made him wings to fly. This was Stephen's opportunity to fly away from all his problems there and to fly away from the person he once was.
Personally, I liked this book. It showed me how some people do suffer over certain things. Stephen tried to be part of the crowd in every aspect of his life, yet he didn't fit in anywhere. He was tormented over his sin with the harlot, only to discover that it wasn't a bad thing to want beauty. I love how he is happy in the end, even though it is leaving his beloved country. He felt freed from a lifetime of restraint and confusion, and for the first time felt good about life. This is a book of renewal and self- discovery, and I would recommend this classic book to any one I know.
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Summary: Joyce the Artist Himself
Review: A Portrait of a Young Artist is a beautiful piece of literature that explores the development of Stephen Dedalus from a young man into an artist. The novel is somewhat autobiographical in that Joyce explores and analyzes his life though the main character Stephen, and through this is trying to make sense of his past and what that makes him. Stephen becomes more independent in his thinking throughout the novel. He is trying to find out who he is in relationship to his family, his peers, Catholicism, and his country. Joyce uses symbolism as well as language and syntax to show Stephen's development.
The language and syntax of the novel parallel the development of Stephen. Chapter one is written in stream of consciousness. Joyce uses this effective tool to really show how a five or six year old would be thinking. The novel begins with a story Stephen's father told him. Then it moves to him wetting the bed, then to his nextdoor neighbor, and then to the boys playing on the play ground. The writing is just as a little child would think. It seems illogical to an adult, but to a child it is logical. The word choice Joyce uses is also very effective. "Rody Kickham was a decent fellow but Nasty Roche was a stink." The word stink also parallels Stephen's age. In chapter three the language is more fully developed. " He feared intensely in spirit and in flesh but, raising his head bravely, he strode into the room firmly." Intensely, bravely and firmly show that Stephen is growing and maturing. By the end of the novel the writing is no longer in stream of consciousness and the language is complex. " A soft liquid joy flowed through the words where the soft long vowels hurtled noiselessly and fell away, lapping and flowing back and ever shaking the white bells of their waves in mute chime and mute peal and soft low swooning cry." Words are no longer just letters; they have meaning and purpose. In this Stephen fully realizes who he is he is an artist. He has completed his change from a boy to a man.
Stephen's development is also shown by birds, which symbolize freedom. The more freedom Stephen has the more he is able to explore who he really is. In the beginning of the novel the birds talked about are unpleasant. Stephen's governess Dante teases him with a poem about an eagle pulling out his eyes. Therefore, this eagle connotes fear as well as something with power, power over him. Then, the bird transforms into his rival and friend Vincent Heron. Instead of being controlled by the bird he is pushed by it, furthering his development. Then, the bird becomes something Stephen wishes to aspire to. " His throat ached with a desire to cry aloud, the cry of a hawk or eagle on high, to cry piercingly of his deliverance to the winds." Now, the eagle that had once tormented him was a symbol of freedom and life.
A Portrait of a Young Artist is not a book for everyone. It is not easy reading. There is also no plot line to pull the reader along so, the reader must be actively engaged in reading the novel. Also, Joyce uses complex jargon and phrasing. Some parts may have to be read through two or three times before their meaning unfolds. The reader also has to let themselves get lost in the writing, dive into the words, make them your own. The language and symbols Joyce uses are beautiful. He is a master and an artist of words which is what makes this book worth reading.
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Summary: Lesson for Life
Review: "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is an eloquent novel that reveals James Joyce's literary genius. The story, which seems to be based on some of Joyce's life, is told using a third person limited omniscient narrator, but often appears to be told through the eyes of the main character Stephen Dedalus. The story is set in late nineteenth century Ireland shadows the growth and development of Stephen during his early years. He begins his journey as a young lad, oppressed by his parents, society, and religion. The diction and tone employed in the early stages of the novel are that of a young child. As we see Stephen's passage through life we also observe a progression of the writing. As Stephen becomes more educated both scholastically and in the ways of the world, Joyce's writing style progresses with him. This fluctuation in style effectively portrays the changes in Stephen, and the ever-widening rift that he creates between himself and his oppressors. Throughout the book, Stephen struggles to separate his own life with the life that he is expected to live. Through a series of vividly descriptive epiphanies, Stephen discovers that his own ideas, though contrary to his upbringing, are acceptable. The book concludes with a series of personal journal entries of Stephen's in which he rejoices in his new found life exclaiming "Welcome, O life!"(185). The lessons learned by Stephen Dedalus have great application to our own lives, proving that sometimes we must cast off our upbringing and venture out on our own to discover who we are. This lesson coupled with Joyce's imaginative, symbolic style makes for a killer combination. "Portrait" is an excellent read!
Rating: 
Summary: Confused
Review: Confusion. This novel is for those of educated minds. Stream-of-conscious runs through this book and only stops as you stop to re-read each page to find out what happened. The book runs free from subject to subject, all seen through the mind of Stephen Dedalus. His imagination runs freely throughout the book and it is sometimes hard to pick up whether what your reading is reality or just a thought process. Symbolism. Every word, sentence, and page is key to understanding this novel. If your focus wanders away for one paragraph, you lose, game over and go back to the beginning to start reading again. The thick symbolism makes it hard to read, but Joyce is able to capture many feelings through the symbolism of birds.
I couldn't get into this book. Every time the book was about to pull me in, a sudden change of pace would leave me scratching my head. This novel seemed to drag me nowhere, granted it is a classic, my classic eyes, nose, and ears say "no" to this book.
This is a well-written novel told about a young boy's life as he grows up. You learn side by side as this young boy, Stephen Dedalus, learns of life. You see things as he sees them, experience things as he experiences them, and feel as he feels. Whether it's fear, loneliness, pride or remorse, the feelings are lived as Stephen's imagination and life intertwine themselves together through each page.
This is a great novel if you have a Joyce-code-reader that helps you understand the Irish slang, Latin and symbolism. Irish slang dots this book, Latin develops it, and symbolism flies through it. This plot-less book is very hard to understand, which conveys Stephen's attitude toward life. He, a young man, is very confused in life. There are five stages in which Stephen goes through in this novel. He goes through school homesick, and looking for an identity other than his father's. Joyce depicts the family through debate at the dinner table, showing the strong political views of Stephen's father. Stephen also finds himself in a growing situation at school. After being wrongly beaten by the prefect of studies, Stephen decides to go and tell the rector on him. Fear mounts as he enters the hall across from the rector's room, but joy comes as he excitedly runs to tell his friends what happened. As he continues to experiment with life as he finds himself wading through sin. He struggles with the lusts of the natural man, as he gets involved with the opposite sex. And then it hits him. A power sermon about death, judgment, heaven and hell chain his soul down as he wishes to escape the eternal torment that surrounds him. He wants his soul to be at peace. And so through a battle with his conscience he repents and frees himself from sin. He then devotes his life to religion and purity. Seeing his devotion to the priesthood, a Father offers him a vocation. However, he discovers another path to paint the picture of his life. He journeys away to find his freedom lies in being an artist. If you're going to read this book, put your code-decrypter nearby and get ready for a ride through the mind of Joyce.
Rating: 
Summary: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Review: Although James Joyce uses superior methods of description, symbolism, and analogy in Portrait of an Artist, I found the content and overall story hard to follow, random, and disorganized, not to mention boring. I had few problems identifying and following the story of Stephen Dedalus as a young child, however, I became lost and confused as Stephen got older. There were few transitions to identify Stephen's age progression, and I found myself confused as to when, how, and why Stephen had grown up and ended up in the arms of a prostitute. My impression was still that of a gradeschool boy, and I did not fully comprehend how old Stephen actually was until his confession with the priest.
Perhaps my own upbringing has hindered my understanding and comprehension of Stephen's life. Never having been a member of the Catholic church, I found it hard to understand Stephen's background and beliefs, which has much emphasis within this story.
Overall, I would say the organization of this book is its downfall. Portrait was tedious, hard to follow, boring, and unrelatable. One of the greatest works within English literature? Sorry, but not in my "book."
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Summary: Great Language, Little Plot
Review: If you enjoy reading beyond simply plotline and love absorbing and getting your hands on beautiful language and interesting writing techniques, then James Joyce's The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is definitly for you. From the very start of his novel, Joyce grabs you with his sometimes unconventional use of language and his mastery of the written word. As you watch, or read, the character of Stephen Dedalus grow and mature into a young man, you are carried along by a developing tone and language. At the age of arounnd 6, for example, Joyce masterfully entertains the reader with a true to life child's point of view of things. Sentences are short and tangents are rampant. Stephen's thoughts tend to be random and unfocused. For instance, when he sees a brown train, it isn't just brown, it's "a long long chocolate train with cream facings". I found it fascinating to experience the growth of Stephen. At the end of the novel, when he is in his mid to late teens, he is a sophisticated thinker. He now exclaims, in a style reminiscient of Hamlet, "To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life! A wild angel had appeared unto him, the angel of mortal youth and beauty, an envoy from the fair courts of life, to throw open before him in an instant of ecstasy the gates of all the ways of error and glory". His complex thought processes are incredible.
It's these great thoughts that make this book a worthwhile read because the plotline is lacking. Fortunately for us all, Joyce has the ability to turn the mundane into fascinating, and the normal into an experience of a lifetime. I loved savoring the beautiful and interesting language and thought processes involved with this book and found that I didn't really mind the lack of plot. Definitly a great experience and worth your time.
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Summary: Portrait
Review: James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist has long been hailed as one of the great literary masterpieces. While it is a different style than I am accustomed to reading, I learned to appreciate its unique approach. The way Joyce links Stephen's seemingly random thoughts in the first chapter kept me on my toes and made me more aware of my own thought processes as I read. Two parts of this book stand out in my mind; both deal directly with Stephen's personality changes. First, we watch Stephen change from a quiet, picked-on schoolboy to a student with increasing influence and authority. Suddenly (and seemingly without effort on his part), Stephen is no longer the isolated intellectual being pushed into ditches, but is leading younger boys in prayers. Just as Stephen won grudging respect from those who were his tormentors, he won my respect by refusing to tattle and giving into self-pity as so many others would. Second, we watch Stephen's spiritual journey. He is brought up surrounded by religion and is introduced early to the conflict between politics and religion. We see him turn from his religious background to "riotous living," then turn back when the preacher's "hell fire and damnation" sermons prick his conscience. Stephen adopts such a rigid, pious lifestyle that the priest invites the young man to join the priesthood. Stephen rejects this opportunity, saying he will inevitably fall again. Almost immediately afterwards, he sees a beautiful girl and feels "an outburst of profane joy." Through these two events, we track Stephen's growth and progress as he discovers his own personality. In large measure, it is this that that makes the novel so timeless. The struggle of offspring versus parents, of childhood teachings versus outside influences is an ever-present tension in adolescence. Stephen's struggle with his parents' religion seemed especially pertinent. All too often, people never stop to see analyze their religious beliefs, to see if there is a deeper reason for their convictions than just childhood habit. Stephen does not want to celebrate Easter, but is loath to cause an argument between his mother and himself-a struggle felt by anyone who has ever differed from their parents on any matter. Though not always this dramatic, there comes a point when children must think for themselves. Not being too far removed from that age myself, it will be interesting to re-read this book in years to come when the roles are reversed and I find myself the parent. I wonder if I will empathize more with Stephen's mother who hopes he can find a heart or if I will staunchly defend the young man's position. Initially, I wasn't sure whether or not I like Portrait of the Artist, but it is a book that stays with you. The writing style is unique and interesting. Joyce's use of words such as "dismember" (rather than "cannot remember") and "whitegray not young" (to describe Father Dolan's face) captivated me. No one can deny that Joyce is a master of the language.
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Summary: Search for Beauty
Review: The strikingly beautiful language of James Joyce provides readers with page after page of scrumptious poetic prose describing more of thoughts and reactions to implied situations within the novel. Portrait of an Artist is not so much the story of young Stephen Daedalus as it is an expression of the feelings of a young man facing an internal struggle between religion and aesthetics. As the prose of the novel grow along with its young protagonist readers are able to see the progression of a small child into a strong young man. Joyce instead of telling readers the story provides them with the sensations and feelings of Stephen as he grows allowing the story to be merely implied and absorbed by the reader. Although many parts of the novel may be difficult to understand, as readers are not always sure exactly what is happening because of Joyce's style, the beauty of the prose itself is a major part of what makes Portrait of an Artist such a fantastic piece of literature.
The struggle of young Stephen between his creative side and the rough political and religious expectations of his family and nation can also be seen by Joyce's choice in the name of his character. The relation of Stephen Daedalus to the mythical Daedalus who created wings to escape the Leviathan is weaved throughout the novel through Joyce's use of bird imagery. The reader can see the progression of the young hero as he strives to create his own wings to escape the oppression he comes to feel from religion and even patriotic devotion. One of the most beautiful passages of the entire book is the epiphanatic moment when Stephen sits on the beach and notices a beautiful young woman standing in the surf. Joyce describes this exquisite young girl by using language one might use when describing a beautiful bird. She represents the beauty and creativity Stephen has felt guilty for desiring all his life because of the strong influence his religion has had on him. Stephen's realization at seeing this girl is one of the major steps in his attempt to create his own wings and fly away.
This masterpiece of James Joyce's, although fictional, draws heavily on experiences from the author's life. It touches on many meaningful themes all mainly related to coming of age as Joyce takes readers through many of his own youth experiences. The real genius of the novel is a technique called stream-of-consciousness that Joyce was one of the pioneering developers of during his time. From the baby talk and infantile perception Joyce presents at the beginning of his novel to the elevated and intellectual ideals Stephen presents during his time at the university, this style of writing enhances the experience for the reader as they are literally inside the main character's thoughts although the narration is not in the first person. This adds to the experience, as the reader is able to struggle along with Stephen as he attempts to rise above the imposition of family, peers, religion and politics. The journey throughout the novel is a story of a young man who comes of age and eventually finds his directions in life as he strive to become an artist in a world dominated by rigid things.
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