Rating: 
Summary: Fly Away, Dedalus!
Review: In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce succeeds in presenting to the reader his true feelings about art. Stephen Dedalus, the protagonist in the work, struggles against himself to find the true purpose of his life. Throughout the novel, Stephen encounters many hardships: prostitutes, heresy, gluttony, pride. In his struggle, Stephen decides his feelings about God, women, and family. Joyce describes Stephen's education throughout school and college; Stephen has many changes of heart throughout this semi-autobiographical novel, and, as Stephen's attitude changes, Joyce's writing style changes. Overall, A Portrait stands as a literary masterpiece and should be read before reading Joyce's greatest novel, Ulysses.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Author of the Century.
Review: James Joyce had a life worthy of study and it is parlayed in this novel with passion and art combined, in equal measure. It drives down the path of a young man's struggle to find truth in religeon, which does not excist beyond metaphorical reasoning. When the protagonist realises this, he defrocks his faith in christianity and searches for answers else where. It is difficult for the reader in our era to understand the pressures that must have been placed on a young man growing up in a catholic shcool and to dissolve his interest in religeon, but it shows the strength that Joyce had for his convictions and desires. A brilliant read telling a story with an amalgam of fiction and non-it truely is delivered in a wonderful and original fashion. For any reader who is not affraid to question life and whom enjoys the greatest writer of prose of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: "Our end is the acquisition of knowledge."
Review: That Joyce quote from Portrait sums up not only my philosophy, but that of Steven Dedalus, Joyce's enigmatic protagonist as well. We see Steven through the eyes of the 3rd person narrator in this provocative, semi-autobiographical coming of age tale set in Ireland. Joyce delves deep into many of life's questions that we all wonder about, mostly subconsciously. It is an allegorical tale of art and morality and a choice to be made between the two. Steven's strict Catholic school is the focus early on as Steven is faced with temptations and faces the aftermath of his transgressions. Steven then moves on to the university and evolves into an adult. At this point I became enthralled with the depth of the prose and finally bought into why this book came so highly acclaimed. The drunken conversations among Steven and Cranly & his college buds stimulates the mind as they delve deep into God's existence and how to achieve the greatest possible happiness for the greatest possible number of people. Don't be discouraged by a slow start - Joyce packs his most potent punch in Chapter 3 and on. Cheers.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat puzzling
Review: I began this book with a sense of relief. Not only was the style
nothing like D.H. Lawrence's _The Rainbow_, which I had just had so much trouble with, but, as I had read _Ulysses_ (and Don Gifford's annotations to the same) over the summer, I felt that I had the necessary background to understand what could have been a very confusing narrative. For instance, when Parnell's name turned up, I instantly knew that this was the Irish politician who had nearly gotten a bill through the English parliament on Home Rule, only to then be disrailed by a scandal involving his long-time affair with a married woman. I also knew that the clergy had been somewhat hypocritical on the Parnell issue, waiting until he was declared guilty in court of adultery before coming out with their own condemnation, a fact that did not sit well with many Irish nationalists. Facts such as these, gleaned from my six weeks with Joyce's masterpiece, gave me a key to the background of the text. But even more, what I liked about _Portrait_ was the, for Joyce, fairly clean style with which the story was told. I feared that _Portrait_ might reflect any one of the experimental styles in _Ulysses_, I was pleasantly surprised by the fairly linear (if occasionally vague with respect to time scale or particular period) storyline. Things didn't stay simple for long, though. Chapter three and the extended sermon was tough to wade through, even if I did feel a personal connection to the crisis of faith experienced by Stephen. In the next three chapters, I was much more unsure of what exactly was taking place-the sentence structure was more complex and the descriptions less concrete. I am somewhat confused by what actually happens at the end. I think I understand that Stephen refuses the priesthood because his brief experience as a religious acolyte (debasing himself by refusing the pleasures of the world) and his soul is still uneasy. He also, I feel, begins to have a doubt of the power of faith, a rationalist's questioning of the sacraments of faith. And he rejects the way of Irish nationalism for its own sake. But what does he assume as his path? The title gives some indication that it is art, but I hesitate to point at anything in the last chapter that shows this.
Rating:
Summary: I fear for the fourteen year old who reads these reviews
Review: After seeing "The Great Gatsby," "The Sun Also Rises," and "The Sound and the Fury" all rated at four stars out of five, I have come to understand that this is not a forum for considered and intelligent discussion of works. I had hoped that young people who liked to read could use this as a reasource for continuing studies outside of class. Selah, no one who relies on these comments will ever graduate as an English Major from any decent College. In closing, two of the people who gave this book poor reviews are from Utah. That tells you something about the amount of thought going into it right there. "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is the reason they invented five stars folks. It's just a given among well read people. Much of art is subjective but works such as these I've listed above are a touchstone for all literary minded people, a measuring stick against which we can frame discussion. To fail to acknowledge this sadly reveals more about the reader than it could about the book.
Rating:
Summary: The 20th century artist
Review: This is the first novel in which we meet the persona of Stephen Dedalus. It is noteworthy that Joyce titled his book A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN instead of A PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN. The chosen title is presumptuous, at the very least,if not downright arrogant. However, at least for Joyce, young Stephen serves as paradigmatic exemplar of the artist. Not just any artist, but the 20th century artist. So what is so special about the 20th century artist? Why not artists from other ages, or all ages? The answer lies in the anti-religious and contra-religious themes and overtones which have developed at an exponential rate in the literature of the past 200 years. One finds this motif in nearly all of the major writers of late; Doestoevsky, Nabokov, Camus, Hemingway and Mann, just to name a few. In all of these writers (as well as countless others) one finds a great sense of loss. The universe is no longer see as a divine clock that keeps perfect time, nor is it seen as something crafted by a divine clockmaker. From this milieu emerges the artist. His task is to transform this painful revelation into something beautiful: art. We are introduced to young Stephen at that crossroads in life where he must decide whether to blindly follow the traditional beliefs of his forefathers, or to use his rational mind to cut himself loose from those bonds. Stephen's name is symbolic, for he chooses to take flight from the labyrinth of religion, as well as all of the dogmatic rites, rituals and institutions of Catholicism. The narrative of the book has a surreal flavor to it. One does not read PORTRAIT so much as one drifts thru the pages, like a raft gently floating downstream. There are many phrases in the novel that are pure poetry; Joyce's mastery of unique metaphors comes to the fore early on in the book. The prose is rarely lacking in elegance. The story will be most accessible to persons who are familiar with the socio-political and religious history of Ireland. For those like myself who are not so informed on these matters, the editor, Seamus Deane does an exemplery job of clarifying Joyce's allusions and references. I found both Deane's introduction as well as his footnotes to be very helpful. This book is highly recommend for all persons who ponder the changing role of the artist in the 20th (and 21st!) century. For an introduction to the themes of this book I would admonish the reader to refer to Friedrich Nietzsche's writings on aesthetics.
Rating:
Summary: Nicely Crafted
Review: This book was never meant to be exciting. If you are at all like Polonius as Hamlet describes, "he's for a jig or a tale of bawdry, or he sleeps," then A Portrait of the Artist is probably not for you. However, it is a wonderful piece of art which expresses the coming-of-age struggle like the best of them. Like most novels of this genre, the main character (Stephen) certainly has characteristics and struggles that everyone can relate with...although in this particular instance I would find it stunning if one related with him completely. Not only does it have narrative value, but the tale of Stephen mirrors the life of Joyce himself and thus can give any curious soul an insight into the inner struggles and development of a genius. The stream of consciousness is not tough at all in this work and basically has the effect of portraying age, emotion, and train of thought. Note all of the references to sensation and color...from the beginning he shows the signs of an artist. There aren't frequent shifts in time like there are in Benjy's and Quentin's sections of The Sound and the Fury, although there are certain events that do replay in the present from the past. This is a story of the struggle of a youth against orthodoxy - religious, linguistic, and nationalistic. The sermons given at the retreat are by far the finest part of the entire novel: rich with diction, imagery, and symbolism. Although I am not religious at all, the passages on hell still evoked a fear within me - which could only have been a glimmer of the full effect it had on young Stephen. Joyce also articulates a philosophy of aesthetics through Stephen later on in the novel, which may more may not be meant to be Joyce's own. I am not going to explain it here, as it falls in with the flow of the novel. Overall, this novel was enjoyable and artistic although the story was not significantly memorable. Read it as a prelude to Ulysses.
Rating: 
Summary: In the Immortal Words of Mark Twain...
Review: "Classic--a book which people praise and don't read." This quotation fits in quite perfectly with this book. Except I'd like to replace the "don't" with "shouldn't". Thanks again Mr. Twain. enough said...
Rating:
Summary: One of the great books of all time
Review: A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man, by James Joyce, is about growing up Irish Catholic in late nineteenth century Ireland. When the book was first published, the style was so radical critics didn't know what to make of it. Although very readable, to understand the book requires that the reader pay close attention. There are many shifts in time and place, and shifts between external consciousness and dreaming or thinking. The author makes these changes without warning; yet, some of the transitions are so seamless, they are magnificent. His dialogue can be difficult to follow sometimes, precisely because it is so smooth. Although written almost a century ago, the language and style still feel very modern. The main character, Stephen Dedalus, grew up in a well-off Irish Catholic family. His father was a businessman who also dabbled in politics but was not religious. He sent the young Stephen to a Jesuit boarding school because, as he told his son, with the connections he will make, he will be able to go far. Stephen's mother was a kind, traditional Irish Catholic. The family lived in the country, but they were forced to move to an apartment in Dublin when their financial situation declined.
As a child, Stephen is physically slight, introverted and intelligent. He wears glasses. It is very touching how Joyce evokes the sensitive nature of the grade school Stephen, especially with regard to the rough-housing of classmates and the undeserved, cruel physical punishments of his teachers. Several images of his childhood, including of his father are seen, playfully, through a glass. Joyce seems to like that image. Stephen worships his father in the way many young boys do. During the time when Stephen was a young boy, the great Irish nationalist leader Parnell had recently fallen from power. Although a Protestant, Parnell had the support of both the Catholics and the Protestants in the north and the south. He was the one leader in Irish history that had the potential to unite all of Ireland and lead them to independence. The men in Stephen's family constantly talk, and argue, politics. The women in the family concurred in the Bishops condemnation of Parnell. Stephen's father and uncle raged at the Catholic clergy. They remained militant Parnell supporters. A family Christmas dinner ends abruptly because of a near violent argument over Parnell between a devout Catholic aunt of Stephen's and a diehard nationalist uncle. It is clear Stephen identified with his father's position. Stephen goes through all the insecurities, emotional chaos, yearnings and sexual desire of adolescence. Stephen loves women and has crushes on several. They appear somewhat alien to him but lovely and sensual nonetheless. He goes through a phase where he becomes a regular in Dublin's red light district. In college, Stephen attends a retreat given by one of his Jesuit teacher's from grade school. The priest delivers one of the most frightening sermons of all time, seemingly endless apocalyptic images and booming rhetoric of hellfire, suffering and eternal damnation. The sermon is the centerpiece of the book, about twenty pages long. As a result of the sermon and retreat, Stephen became overwhelmed with guilt and went to confession. In college, the students and faculty acknowledge Stephen to be intellectually brilliant. In college, Stephen becomes as much an expert in his subjects as any of his Jesuit professors. He digests, deconstructs and masters everything the priests had in their arsenal to throw at him: Aquinas, Aristotle, Plato, literature, every language and subject.
In his last year of college, as you can predict, one of the Jesuit professors asks Stephen to seriously consider become a (Jesuit) priest. He turns him down. He sees the Jesuits as lifeless. They are not like Saint Ignatius, he observes. They are not what they are supposed to be. Stephen shudders at the thought of spending the rest of his life living in an institution like the cold, rigid Jesuit grade school and residence he attended as a child. In the end, Stephen rejects the Catholic Church and Ireland. He says the attitude of Irish Roman Catholics towards Roman Catholicism is that of a, "Dullwitted loyal serf." Stephen understands better than anyone that his intellect and personality are saturated with Catholicism. He can't stand it and declares himself an agnostic. He says he needs to get out of Ireland to decide for himself what he believes and doesn't believe. He is disgusted with Irish culture, or the lack of it. He tells a friend that, "Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow." Stephen's friends have gotten used to his brilliance over the years, but his rejection of Ireland and Catholicism astonishes and mystifies them. One friend even suggests that he become a Protestant. Stephen replies, "I said that I had lost the faith but not that I had lost selfrespect. What kind of liberation would that be to forsake an absurdity which is logical and coherent and to embrace one which is illogical and incoherent?" Likewise, Stephen bristles with hostility towards the English. The dean of students of his college is a Jesuit from England. In a casual conversation, Stephen sets him up by using the word tundish instead of funnel. "Is that called a tundish in Ireland?" the dean asked patronizingly. Stephen answered, laughing at him, "It is called a tundish in Lower Drumcondra, where they speak the best English." Later, to a friend, Stephen says, with hostility and contempt, that this Englishman came to Ireland to learn proper English. Stephen's mother tells him that he's read too many books. She tells him she prays that he will learn about things of the heart. About his impending emigration, Stephen says, "Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race."
Rating:
Summary: thought provoking, but slow
Review: if action is not your boat then you will probably enjoy this book. it chronicles the events of a young man's, stephen dedalus, youth and adolescent years. joyce depicts the struggle between Irish nationalism and religion beautifully, all while keeping pace with stephen's journey from the strict jesuit Clongowes to the less sheltered Belvedere to trinity university. don't expect to feel the same about Ireland's struggles after finishing this book.
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