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the portrait of the artist as a young man essays
aesthetic philosophy of James joyce in relation to a portrait of the artist as a young man
the portrait of the artist as a young man essays
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James Joyce's Alter Ego in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Works Cited Missing
In James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen
Dedalus, a young man growing up, has many of the same traits of the
young James Joyce. For example, "On 1 September 1888, at the age of
'half-past-six', Joyce was taken by his parents to be enrolled in the
finest Catholic preparatory school in Ireland, Clongowes Wood College,
situated about twenty miles west of Dublin in the countryside near
Clane"(Anderson, James Joyce 15). This is the same school Stephen
Dedalus attends in the novel. This is one of the many ways James Joyce
uses this novel to portray his life. James Joyce's A Portrait of the
Artist as a Young Man can be read autobiographically.
According to David Daiches, James Joyce "...transmuted autobiography
into objective action..."(Daiches). James Joyce wrote an account of
his life and turned it into an interesting story, and also one of the
greatest books ever written. Joyce is letting the reader know all
about himself through this book. Harold Bloom notes " 'A Portrait of
the Artist as a Young Man,' of course, is autobiography…Joyce is
turning himself inside out, spilling forth all the jangled moods that
lie deep in artistic consciousness"(Bloom 38). Joyce brings himself
out in Stephen. Instead of letting the reader know all about himself
through an original autobiography, he simply lets Stephen be his alter
ego and tells his life through Stephen. He lets all his thoughts and
ideas go through Stephen.
It was a troubling time for Joyce when he first tried to write his
life story....
... middle of paper ...
..., one of the most drastic changes of Stephen's
life took place when he met a prostitute. This was the beginning of
the artist's emergence in the novel. Anderson writes about Joyce's
life saying "That spring, at the age of fourteen, walking home from
the theatre along the tree-lined path beside the Royal Canal, he met a
prostitute and began his adult sexual life" (Anderson, James Joyce
24).
There are many similarities in the lives of Stephen Dedalus and James
Joyce. These occurrences are related so closely that it proves Joyce
must have written this novel as an autobiography, and titled it A
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Perhaps this was his way of
showing his flaws and his heroic acts without bragging or being
embarrassed. His objective autobiography truly is one of the great
works in English literature.
In the memoir, The color of Water, the author James McBride's life is rawly laid out for the reader. It discusses his life and his search to understand his mother's identity. In understanding who she is, he believes that he will better be able to identify himself and who he is. His memoir involves stories from his mother's and his own point of view, that help the reader understand the hardships that both individuals encountered, and overall how similar their perspectives truly are. Throughout the book, James tells the reader about many different events that took place over the course of his life. There are a select few that truly influenced the path his life took, and the way he sees himself. These major events include James' step father passing
Throughout his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh drew many self-portraits. It’s theorized that he drew so many to test out new painting styles and because it was cheaper to draw himself instead of hiring a model. The function of this painting is commentary since it is a visual account of a person. Using shades of blue in the background and shirt makes Vincent Van Gogh pop out. The orange in his beard complements to the blue and draws the viewer’s attention to his face.
James Joyce, whose full name was James Augustine Aloysuis Joyce, known as one of the greatest Irish literature writers in the 20th century(FamousAuthors). Born in Dublin, Ireland, February 2, 1882 into a middle class family. Joyce was one of ten surviving children. John Stanislaus Joyce was James father. A talented singer, just about one of the best in Ireland during his time. Although he had an extraordinary talent, he could not provide a steady household for the family. After being laid off from a tax collector job he became an alcoholic and addicted to drugs. His father could not keep a steady job. His habit to spend money lead the family downhill. This caused the family to move from home to home. Joyce mother, Mary Jane Murray was an phenomenal pianist. Even though this was not enough to keep their family of twelve on their feet in the middle class area. Her life revolved around the catholic church.
Each experience and interaction has an effect on the development of the person as an adult and shapes them into the personality and even physical appearance they will take on as they mature. Those with the strongest influence, namely family, religious figures, and others whom one comes in frequent contact with will have the greatest effect on a developing being. It is between the stage of childhood and adulthood that the most change takes place. This position, called adolescence, is the state of a person coming of age yet not completely independent, it is this state that the psychologist Erik Erikson’s adolescent theory becomes prominent. “Erikson was an ego psychologist. He emphasized the role of culture and society and the conflicts that can take place within the ego itself.”(McLeod) It is Erikson’s theory that brought about the thought of an identity crisis that occurs in this stage of life. According to Erikson’s thought of identity diffusion there are four major components; intimacy, diffusion of time perspective, diffusion of industry, and negative identity. These can each be found in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as each of these factors are clearly represented in the novel.
Within The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde depicts two characters that follow the philosophy of Walter Pater. These two characters are Dorian Gray and Henry Wotton. They both embody Pater’s ideal of placing as much enjoyment in one’s short life as possible. While Dorian learns of Pater’s philosophy from Henry he soon exceeds his teacher and becomes invested within the philosophy of living life to the fullest. Dorian exceeds Henry in Pater’s philosophy through his active experimentation and desire for beauty, but Dorian fails to live up to all of Pater’s expectations due to his inability to separate morality for art.
The short stories collected in Dubliners are mostly predecessors and characterizations of James Joyce's later works. "The Sisters" is no different. It, along with "An Encounter" and "Araby," are drawn from Joyce's personal memories and sentiments. The young boy and the characteristics of these short stories are an indirect sampling of Joyce's next published work, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, a novel mostly written from his own memory. "The Sisters," by James Joyce, is a story that mingles unworldly associations with an aim to teach with realistic endeavor, revealing truths of life and death.
Dorian Gray seems to be two different people, at the exact same time. He is beautiful externally, but hideous internally. He is good-natured externally, and at the same time, ill-natured internally. Dorian appears to be perfect externally, but is extremely flawed internally. Dorian’s private ethics oppose the public morals of the traditional Victorian society in which he is a part of (Gillespie). He possesses a dual-nature through his struggle between his inner and outer selves. Dorian seems to exhibit a duality of innocence and sin at the same time. He is publically good and innocent. He maintains his good social standing for a time, by appearing to be the same, moral man he once was before he became friends with Lord Henry. However, at the same time, he
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce, the author of A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, was once described by a friend, Constantine Curran, as "a man of unparalleled vituperative power, a virtuoso in speech with unique control of the vernacular." While Constantine viewed Joyce's quality of verbal abuse "powerful," and praised his "control" of the language, many viewed this expressive and unrestrained style of writing as inappropriate and offensive. A dramatic new step for modernism, Joyce used language, style, and descriptions of previously unwritten thoughts and situations which stirred the cultural norm, thus sparking controversy over what was necessary and acceptable in literature.
“As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed,” Vincent Van Gogh quoted. Albert Einstein, JK Rowling, Vincent Van Gogh, and I all have something in common. Apart from being passionate about a subject, we have all failed at some point. Yet, this does not stop us from trying again. JK Rowling was rejected fifteen times before her book was published. Each time Rowling failed she revised her work and published it again. Einstein also failed various times when he tried to come up with theories. Van Gogh only had one ear and people did not take notice of him because he was mentally ill and isolated. Van Gogh then became famous after he died at age thirty-seven.
James Joyce in his novel “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” says “The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful.” (134) For Stephen Dedalus after the reoccuring stream of consciousness throughout his youth, one of the factors of his creation into the artist is women. Indeed it is the women throughout the novel that shape Stephen into the man he finds himself becoming toward the end. Six women in particular that form specific functions in Stephens life are: Stephen’s mother, Eileen, Mercedes, the Virgin Mary, the prostitute, the birdlike woman by the water. These women affect and shape his character by loving him, inspiring him, and fascinating him.
Religion is an important and recurring theme in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Through his experiences with religion, Stephen Dedalus both matures and progressively becomes more individualistic as he grows. Though reared in a Catholic school, several key events lead Stephen to throw off the yoke of conformity and choose his own life, the life of an artist.
As James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man unfolds, the central theme of isolation and rejection becomes evident. From birth to adolescence, the protagonist of the story, Stephen Dedalus, responds to his experiences throughout life with actions of rejection and isolation. He rebels against his environment and isolates himself in schoolwork, family, religion and his art, successively. James Joyce uses Stephen Dedalus' responses of isolation and rejection to illustrate the journey that the artist must take to achieve adulthood.
James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man presents an account of the formative years of aspiring author Stephen Dedalus. "The very title of the novel suggests that Joyce's focus throughout will be those aspects of the young man's life that are key to his artistic development" (Drew 276). Each event in Stephen's life -- from the opening story of the moocow to his experiences with religion and the university -- contributes to his growth as an artist. Central to the experiences of Stephen's life are, of course, the people with whom he interacts, and of primary importance among these people are women, who, as his story progresses, prove to be a driving force behind Stephen's art.
Stephen's Journey to Maturation in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus defines beauty and the artist's comprehension of his/her own art. Stephen uses his esthetic theory with theories borrowed from St. Thomas Aquinas and Plato. The discourse can be broken down into three main sections: 1) A definitions of beauty and art. 2) The apprehension and qualifications of beauty. 3) The artist's view of his/her own work. I will explain how the first two sections of his esthetic theory relate to Stephen. Furthermore, I will argue that in the last section, Joyce is speaking of Stephen Dedalus and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as his art.