A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man

Rating:
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.

Rating:
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.

Rating:
Summary: Full of Contradiction
Review: James Joyce¡¯s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the coming of age story of Stephen Dedalus. Stephen grows from a sensitive child to a defiant young man. The reader learns about Stephen as he matures and discovers that Stephen is a complex person full of paradox.
The very first contradiction is evident in Stephen¡¯s name. His first name comes from the Roman Catholic Saint Stephen who was the first Christian martyr. Stephen can be seen as a martyr for his art. At the end of the novel, Stephen leaves his native Ireland in pursuit of his dream of being an artist. He gave up everything he had for his dream. His last name comes from a Greek mythological figure, Daedalus, a great inventor who was commanded to make a maze by a powerful king. The king¡¯s goal was to imprison the brilliant Daedalus in the maze so that the king would always have access to his genius. Daedalus made waxen wings so that his son, Icarus, could escape the maze. Icarus soared to close to the sun, melting the wings his father had made. Icarus died because of his foolish pride. Stephen can be seen as Icarus because he lost his home, family, and faith in pursuit of his own glory. His name is obviously contradictory and characterizes him as both virtuous and prideful.
Stephen¡¯s personality is as contradictory as his name. As a young boy, Stephen is fearful and insecure. In the beginning of the novel, Stephen seems cowardly when he is bullied by his classmates. But he later finds strength to question authority. He is bold enough to question his upbringing, the beliefs of his family, and the tenets of the Catholic Church. His questioning of the Church, leads him to reject Catholicism and embrace his talents.
Similarly, Stephen is too shy to kiss the girl he likes, but he willfully visits prostitutes. On one occasion, Stephen knew that the girl he liked wanted him to kiss her, but he could not bring himself to do it, even though he desired too. Later on in chapter II, Stephen "wanted to sin with another of his kind, to force another being to sin with him and to exult her in sin,¡± so he visited a prostitute. But when the women asked him to kiss her, he could not. His inner struggles are apparent in his desire to sin with a prostitute, and the inability to kiss the girl he desires.
He recognizes this contradiction between his outward appearance of piety and his inner immorality, when he says,"Could it be that he, Stephen Dedalus, had done those things? His conscience sighed in answer. Yes, he had done them, secretly, filthily, time after time and hardened in sinful impenitence, he had dared to wear the mask of holiness before the tabernacle itself while his soul within was a living mass of corruption."
Stephen finds himself caught between his desire to be good and his desire to be discreet about his transgressions. His conflicting views are illustrated by his thoughts. ¡°He had to confess every sin. How could he utter in words to the priest what he had done? Must, must. Or how could he explain without shame? A madman! Confess! O he would indeed to be free and sinless again!¡±
After repenting of his sins and turning back to the faith of his upbringing, he considers becoming a priest. A priest asks Stephen, ¡°Have you ever felt that you have a vocation?¡± Stephen considers the possibility of becoming a powerful, well respected priest with much anticipation but then comes to the conclusion that, ¡°He was destined to learn his own wisdom apart from others or to learn the wisdom of others himself wandering among the snares of the world." He realizes his destiny lies away from the Church.
Throughout the novel, Stephen¡¯s thoughts are disjointed and contradictory, much like his name. He has a difficult time finding his identity, and in the end, Stephen leaves behind his home and embarks on a journey to find himself.

Rating:
Summary: A challenging book to read, but well worth it
Review: At the beginning of this novel, I had a hard time with Joyce's writing style, but once I had read more of the book, I realized that his writing is amazing. He jumped around a lot, which confused me so that I had to read parts several times before I understood them. At first that bothered me. Then I realized that this style of writing helped to tie the events of Stephen's life together. I think that it brought a greater depth to Stephen as a character because I was able to understand why he acted the way he did and I could understand the reason behind his thinking.
Joyce's symbolism is also effective. It shows Stephen's growth from a little baby to a man, and shows how his thinking develops. I didn't pick up on it at first because I was working so hard at simply understanding the plot and making sense of the sentences. I admit that I didn't appreciate the use of figurative language at first. I felt like it got in the way of the plot. Although I still do not fully appreciate the symbolism and amount of description, I now realize that it is necessary to understand the path that Stephen ends up taking in his life. When I went back through the chapters and looked specifically for symbols, the ones that I found told me a lot about Stephen at the stage of life he was in. I could see why he felt the way he did about certain things, like his family, friends, women or school. Without these symbols, the story of Stephen's life would have been just a story, instead of a deep study into the heart and mind of a boy growing into a man.
After praising Joyce's portrayal of Stephen's development, I do have to add a negative, and perhaps a little contradictory, opinion. I felt the plot wasn't anything to scream about. I understand that the novel is a portrait of a young man, but sometimes I felt like I was only getting a brushstroke instead of a whole portrait. Let me explain. Although Joyce wrote much description about how Stephen felt, or his reasoning about events and people in his life, I didn't feel like the events themselves were described very clearly. Sometimes I didn't even understand what was going on when Joyce wrote about an event because he used so much figurative language. In my opinion, it would have been more effective to tell the events more plainly and save the real figurative language for describing Stephen and his growth into a man. I felt like I had to dig through a bunch of muck to get the real scoop on what was going on at a specific time in the book. This may seem contradictory to my previous paragraph, but in that paragraph I was saying that the symbolism helped to explain Stephen's feelings and thought processes. In this paragraph I simply want to way that the plot would have been a lot more enjoyable had it been a little easier to follow.
Having said that, I would like to say one more thing that I liked about this novel. I thought that the way Joyce showed dialogue was very effective. It made it seem like I was in Stephen's mind, hearing what he was hearing, instead of being a third party just listening in on a conversation. It was another thing that bothered me at first but then I understood the purpose for it. The paragraphs flowed a little better without all the quotation marks and commas that usually accompany dialogue.
Overall I think that this book is well written with interesting insights. It was hard to get through, and a little slow at times, but I feel like it made me a better and more thorough reader simply because I was forced to read carefully. I would recommend this to a patient reader who is willing to spend time to understand what Joyce is trying to say.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting writing style
Review: I was required to read this book as part of my intensive writing class. That may put a slightly negative spin on my views of this book, since I was forced to read it. However, I think that was not a major factor on my opinion of this book.

'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' is a good book. In this book, Joyce uses beautiful imagery, interesting style, and thought provoking ideas. Joyce has a very artistic voice that creates wonderful images for the reader. He uses point of view to make the reader think and make connections between the book and the reader's own life. Joyce uses many intriguing and antiestablishment ideas. Overall, this is a good, but not great book.

One cannot read this book without noticing at least some of the imagery that is contained in it. The first page and a half is pure imagery. There is no plot or real coherence to it. As the story progresses, there becomes a plot; however, a large emphasis on imagery remains. On page twelve it reads, 'He crouched down between the sheets, glad of their tepid glow.' The reader is able to see this event, because Joyce uses great words like 'crouched' and 'tepid glow.' Joyce is also great at making the reader feel things. On page 82 it reads, 'The frail, gay sound smote his heart more strongly than a trumpetblast, and, not daring to lift his eyes, he turned aside and gazed, as he walked, into the shadow of the tangled shrubs.' One feels what the main character, Stephen Dedalus is feeling. The imagery creates a connection between reader and character, which adds to the overall quality of this piece. On page 158 it reads, 'O what sweet music! His soul was all dewy wet. Over his limbs in sleep pale cool waves of light had passed. He lay still, as if his soul lay amid cool waters, conscious of faint sweet music.' That passage is just simply beautiful. The reader can see these images, which fully illustrates the euphoric feelings of Stephen. Imagery is gorgeously applied throughout the book to create a tie between reader and character, and reader and story.

The thing that intrigued me the most about 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' was the interesting point of view. The book starts out as Stephen's point of view. By the end, it is Stephen's journal. In between, it is everything from strictly third person limited to a first person view in third person. This may not seem to make sense, all this talk about point of view being in more than one person at one time, but if you read this book, it will make sense. The importance of this view to me is in how it made me think. I had trouble concentrating while I read this book. I was constantly thinking of different experiences, ideas, or hopes of my own. Joyce uses a point of view that is so much like one's own thoughts that it is almost impossible to not let one's thoughts stray. I would think about things in my life related to what the book was discussing. This creates a powerful tool in the author's hands. He is able to make the reader think about the book at a personal level. That way, the reader internalizes the points Joyce wants to make. This book affects the reader, often unbeknownst to him. The reader's ideas are affected. Joyce does not brain wash his readers; he simply opens their minds to new ideas. The interesting use of point of view is able to change the readers' opinions.

This book is often thought of as an anarchist book. It is on the cover of one of Rage Against the Machine's CD's. Also on the cover are books like The Anarchist Cookbook, The Media Monopoly, and 50 Ways to Fight Censorship. When I first discovered this, I was baffled. This book was about a shy little boy growing up. I did not understand this books connotations until the end. In the fifth and last chapter, Stephen is a poet with many antiestablishment ideas. By hearing Stephen's discussions with other characters, the reader is exposed to these ideas. Stephen's anti-society ideas are shown on page 181. It reads, 'I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland or my church.' Stephen obviously has no faith in God, his country, or his family. Furthermore, Stephen will not do things just because he is supposed to. He will only do things he believes are right to do. This book has many ideas that display a rebellious spirit.

Overall, I would say 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' was a good book, and worth a read, if you have the time. It can give you a better understanding of writing and of others' point of views. If you are interested in any of the things I mentioned in this review, I would advise reading this book. It demonstrates many interesting ideas and techniques of writing.

Rating:
Summary: Silence, exile and cunning
Review: Ulysses might be considered the masterpiece of this prose stylist to beat all stylists but Portrait though shorter has more story in it as its subject matter is the coming to consciousness of the young Stephen Dedalus from pre-verbal youth to highly verbal young thinking man. The early pages are fascinating as young Stephen learns his first words amid discussions of Irish politics. As Stephen matures he becomes more and more independent of his immediate and humble background as only the very highest thinkers are capable of engaging him(Aquinas being one in a line of important influences that he absorbs). The book is really Stephens search for the proper course for his life to take and by the last pages he has devised his intellectual strategy. The influences shape him but one can see they have served only to awaken what will no doubt be a very original mind. Joyce writes wonderful sentences and the experimentation and newness of the style still feels that way, it remains a great modern book,and it remains the greatest of the coming of age books. Ulysses has less story but each of the events of that one day are loaded to the hilt with stylistic homages to all the great literature that came before it, brilliant but it does leave one gasping for air. Great book but this ones smaller scope places it in a more accessible range for readers who might want to get used to Joyce in stages . There are a good many passages in this one that rival the ones in that bigger more lauded book. Portrait was the laboratory out of which came Ulysses, but it is a work that stands very well on its own and a very exciting work it is to anyone who cares about books and the investigation of life through words.

Rating:
Summary: A Delicious Read!
Review: "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is an impressionistic, semi-autobiographical work in which Joyce, through the character of Stephen Dedalus, relates the events and impressions of his youth and young adulthood. The novel flows effortlessly from Stephens first memories as "baby tuckoo" to his final journal entries before embarking on a promising literary career in Paris. In the pages between, Joyce's virtuosity of prose explodes in passages with frightening intensity. Even those who dislike Joyce's confusing, sometimes-infuriating style, should be awestruck by his undubitable writing ability.

However, as anyone reading this review should already know, despite his virtuosity, Joyce is not for everyone. He is simultaneously one of the most beloved and despised writers of the twentieth century. For those of you who are unfamiliar with his work and hesitantly contemplating becoming acquainted with it, here is some food for thought: first, start with "Portrait," it is far more accessible than his subsequent works and a better introduction to them than the also-excellent "Dubliners" is. Second, do not try to judge "Portrait" by the same standards as other books. Joyce is not trying to tell an amusing story here, he is trying to relate the impressions of a young man torn between two existences: a religious or an aesthetic. If you are a meat-and-potatoes type of reader, meaning the kind of reader who prefers a "story," Joyce will not be your cup of tea. Lastly, Joyce's reputation perhaps does his works injustice. Yes, he is extremely encyclopedic and takes on many themes in his works. But perhaps too many readers get sidetracked from the aesthetic merits of his works by concentrating solely on the intellectual values. It is his prose which can be universally appreciated, whether you understand the ideas it portrays or not. His prose is his bread-and-butter. Some people pompously brag of their "getting" Joyce without actually appreciating what he does. I don't claim to be a bonafied Joyce scholar, but it is my experience that to enjoy Joyce is to appreciate "literature for literature's sake." If you enjoy literature, poetry or prose, than you should enjoy the style with which Joyce writes, that is to say, all styles. And he has seemingly mastered all styles. That is not to say that the many thematic levels in which his novels succeed are to be ignored, for their expression is not seperate from the means with which Joyce does it, but congruous with it.

To read Joyce is to revel in the limits of artistic creation and then to read on as the limits are then stretched further.

Bon Apetite!

Rating:
Summary: beautifully emulated
Review: When I was much younger and naive, I had read every single line of Joyce, including his letters and poems and even Finnegan's Wake (what a waste of time). I can't help it, the man was an amateur for all his life, a typical tinkerer and home improvement guy who probably never really found the kind of subject matter that could have distracted him from his self-consciousness. His short stories would barely be remembered these days if there wasnÕt his name under the title. They are imitation pieces, ventriloquistic exercises, and pretty flat and lifeless if held against Chekhov and Kipling, or Flaubert and Kathleen Mansfield.

Joyce had his fair share of difficulties like everyone of us and at some point threw a Manuscript of 2,000 pages into the fireside. The legend goes that his sister Eileen rescued parts of it from the fire. (A similar legend surrounds the first draft of NabokovÕs ÒLolita.Ó) Joyce re-edited the remainders and with the help of Ezra Pound it was published under the title of ÒA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.Ó Much later the remainders of the original draft appeared as ÒStephen Hero.Ó If it had survived in full it would probably have been a very long and rather insufferable autobiographical novel about a clever young man realizing that he's too good for the society into which he's been born.

An attitude the author never really changed: take for instance ÒNausicaa,Ó the notorious masturbation scene in ÒUlysses.Ó Superbly written as it is, it gives us the whole deficiency of Joyce in a nutshell. He imitates the presumptuous and pompous phrasing in certain fashion magazines of the period, but just tell me to what end? Is it to poke fun on the cliche beset thoughts of the crippled girl? Well I fail to see the joke, this is just cruel. Satire either attacks a subject that has the capacity to bite back, or it is merely an act of snobbery. Joyce, the writer, was a rather small character and in the sentiment of his period thought it to be cool to be "anti-philistine."

Apparently "Dubliners" and "Portrait" and especially ÒUlyssesÓ were written by an author who went on a quest for his own style. Finnegan's Wake eventually was the place where the eagle landed. I donÕt think I am alone in my opinion that Joyce had landed on the most barren rock in the entire Universe. Joyce had tons of talent to burn, but something went seriously wrong here. I am all for modern art, and consider the term "post modern" a phony contradiction in terms. But lesser talents accomplished more - DosPassos, O'Neil, Kafka, Proust, Marianne Moore, Auden, Hemingway, Nabokov, they all have their moments, even clowns like Bukowski and Douglas Adams (who is a linguistic genius in his own right.) Borges could put in 3 lines what took a Joyce 30 strenuous pages without ever achieving a comparable impact. With one exception.

If we compare the ÒPortraitÓ with the leftovers from ÒStephen HeroÓ we can see what good editing can accomplish. Joyce was very fond of copiously scribbling in the margins of the galley proofs, so the improvements in style are probably entirely his. The overall structure though (like that of T.S. EliotÕs ÒWastelandÓ) might be based on suggestions by Ezra Pound. Pound also helped Joyce to find a publisher for the ÒPortrait.Ó It was the time when Joyce had been in his Flaubertian phase and emulated the FrenchmanÕs method to present events strictly from the protagonistÕs perspective and in terms of the characterÕs faculties of perception. And what an emulation it is.

Style is the most direct access to an artistÕs temperament. Narrative style is a conveyor - only in essays and poems style is allowed to be a player. Approaching Joyce is an experience not dissimilar to ÒThe Approach to Al-MuÕtasim.Ó After crossing through all the veils we step into an entirely empty room, like the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple. Beyond the private circle of his life, Joyce had nothing to say. Catholicism and Thomas AquinaÕs philosophy leave you badly prepared, not only for the second law of thermodynamics and Special Relativity, but for democracy, a truly free Ireland, or sex with your wife, and life in general.

Only in the ÒPortraitÓ Joyce managed to bring all the pieces together, and though I must say, that the throes of adolescence in the clutches of CatholicismÕs screwed morality and hygiene make not exactly my favorite read, what counts is HOW Joyce brings across his story. And he does it brilliantly. The book is full of flavors and sensuality. We hear the dull thud of the wet leather ball on the rugby pitch, shiver in the clammy dormitory, feel the slight vertigo of StephenÕs trance in the rocking train compartment. All this is fine writing except for the first part, when Joyce attempted to reproduce the mind-set of a small boy.

His choice of words comes a tat too cute and betrays the condescending adult. Joyce was certainly not a Tolstoy, even not a Kipling. NabokovÕs ÒSpeak MemoryÓ is a fine description of early childhood that respects the child. Joyce of course had no intention to glorify this particular childhood, or to be objective. He wrote out of his bitterness of something to be left behind, and the sooner the better. So the ventriloquism sometimes comes on a false note. Still with all these minor flaws, this is a major novel in the language and must read for the aspiring author.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Gorgeous Prose
Review: This is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. I love Joyce's pure stream-of-consciousness writing and the exhilaration and lyricism inherent in his gorgeous prose.

In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, we meet Stephen Dedalus, later to become a central figure in the monumental Ulysses, for the first time and we follow him through his boarding school days, to the university, to his decision to leave Ireland for Paris. Although it is an excellent idea to read this book before embarking on the much more involved and symbolic Ulysses, those who consider A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man only a prelude to Ulysses are definitely cheating themselves. This book is a masterpiece of its own accord: vibrant, exhilarating, luminous, joyous.

Even if Joyce had never written Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man would be enough to assure his place in history as one of the world's greatest authors. Don't miss this prize!

Rating:
Summary: Prose at its Most Poignant
Review: "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," is a testament to the potential power of prose. Supposedly semi-autobiographical, it displays the first instance of Joyce delving into the stream-of-consciousness technique in novel form, and though not as experimental as "Ulysses" or "Finnegan's Wake" it remains an essential for anyone who enjoys literature.