Bird Imagery in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

853 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The portrait of the artist as a young man essays

Bird Imagery in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

The works of twentieth-century Irish writer James Joyce resound

vividly with a unique humanity and genius. His novel, A Portrait of the

Artist as a Young Man, published in 1916, is a convincing journey through

the inner mind and spirit of Stephen Dedalus. Portrayed with incredible

fluency and realism, imagery guides the reader through the swift current of

growth tangible in the juvenile hero. Above all heavy imagery in the novel

is the recurring bird motif. Joyce uses birds to ultimately relate Stephen to

the Daedelus myth of the “hawklike man;” however, these images also

exemplify Stephen’s daily experiences, and longing for true freedom

. By using imagery of birds as threatening, images of beauty, and

images of escape, the reader can unify the work and better understand

Stephen’s tumultuous journey through life.

The opening scene of Chapter one portrays a conversation between

a very young Stephen and Dante, Stephen’s nanny. She scolds him for an

unconventional thought, warning him that “the eagles will come and pull

out [your] eyes”. This obviously graphic image suggests to Stephen the

threatening presence of eagles that are minding all his thoughts. Joyce’s

vividness with such gruesome imagery has a real effect on Stephen; he

repeats Dante’s caution in his childish song, chanting: “Pull out his eyes,

Apologize”. A playful, yet sensitive Stephen must immediately conformeven

his innocent unorthodox actions in fear of the threatening phantom

eagles to save the consequences they will bring. His thoughts are

threatened again by birds when he meets an acquaintance named Heron

when walking down a dark street. Stephen immediately notes the peculi...

... middle of paper ...

...of how the creatures

of the air have their knowledge and know their times and seasons because

they, unlike man, are in the order of their life and have not perverted that

order by reason”.

In order to seek true emancipation, Stephen “must go away for they were

birds ever going and coming...ever leaving the homes they had built to

wander”. Stephen resolves to leave his Irish homeland; free and wild

as his images of the birds.

The attributes which mold Stephen Dedalus’ growing integrity and

life decisions stem from the actions which surround him. The reader

associates Stephen by the images he encounters and his reaction to them.

In James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen’s

connection with bird imagery helps to define his search for a role in his

society, and helps readers define and identify with his quest.

Show More
Related

  • The Bird Motif in Invisible Man

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Ralph Ellison's novel, Invisible Man, the narrator must go through a journey of self discovery. He does not identify himself with the black people, nor is he a part of the white culture. Throughout the novel, Ellison uses the bird motif emphasize the personalities of the groups that he is describing. In his humble beginnings the narrator's greatest desire is to achieve the power that would earn him respect from all races of people. He attempts to achieve this by adapting white ideals and adopting white customs. With the opportunity of going to New York, the narrator's future is open to many possibilities. "Man's hope can paint a purple picture, can transform a soaring vulture into a noble eagle or a moaning dove"(126).

    Read More

  • Frail Males in Margaret Laurence’s A Bird in the House

    2757 Words  | 6 Pages

    Kristjana Gunnars suggests that “Canada is an unhappy country. No, better still, the Prairies are unhappy. Canadian women are especially unhappy” (Gunnars 122). In Margaret Laurence’s A Bird in the House, the women are indeed unhappy. In the end, however, it is the women who triumph because of their solidarity. The men, due to their solitary states, are unable to maintain their traditionally powerful roles. In these short stories, the men appear to be the leaders of the household, but the women have the greater but subtler power. The men do not lend each other support, while the women are often willing to lend each other a shoulder to cry on. Thus, because of their bluntness and solitariness, the men in A Bird in the House are dethroned from their traditional seats of power in male-female relations, male-male relations, and in female-female relations where their absence is not missed.

    Read More

  • Dorianne Laux’s “Bird”

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    The tile of the poem “Bird” is simple and leads the reader smoothly into the body of the poem, which is contained in a single stanza of twenty lines. Laux immediately begins to describe a red-breasted bird trying to break into her home. She writes, “She tests a low branch, violet blossoms/swaying beside her” and it is interesting to note that Laux refers to the bird as being female (Laux 212). This is the first clue that the bird is a symbol for someone, or a group of people (women). The use of a bird in poetry often signifies freedom, and Laux’s use of the female bird implies female freedom and independence. She follows with an interesting image of the bird’s “beak and breast/held back, claws raking at the pan” and this conjures a mental picture of a bird who is flying not head first into a window, but almost holding herself back even as she flies forward (Laux 212). This makes the bird seem stubborn, and follows with the theme of the independent female.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Maya Angelou's Caged Bird

    540 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history, there has been racial segregation prevalent in American culture. Barriers between African Americans and Anglos have existed for several centuries with no end in sight. During an era of oppression, the lives of African American's was made distinctive by prejudice and restricted opportunities. This was a time of recognized African American inferiority; which involuntarily forced them to endure many partialities and tyranny. African Americans were forced to be obsequious and acquiescent due to these customs that were profoundly entrenched in a discriminatory nation. The only way for African Americans to gain honer and respect was for them to stand up for their rights and let there voice be heard. Maya Angelou encouraged those of her ethnicity to do this in her poem Caged Bird.

    Read More

  • "Skipper" and "As Birds Bring Forth the Sun" Analysis

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “Skipper”, Aldan Nowlan introduces the protagonist, Skipper. Skipper’s mother Ethel yearns for a better life for her and her son outside of their mining community. In the short story “As Birds Bring Forth the Sun”, Alistair MacLeod introduces a young dog named cù mòr glas. Cù mòr glas is saved by a family man who lives by the sea. Aldan Nowlan’s “Skipper” and Alistair Macleod’s “As Birds Bring Forth the Sun” appear to have little in common, but both stories show the same series of events that lead to Skipper and cù mòr glas inflicting unintentional pain on their loved ones.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Bird Catcher By Malcolm X

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    Going into prison Malcolm X had no ability to read and write. He grew up on the streets as a hustler before getting arrested for larceny and breaking and entering. While in prison, X taught himself to read and write by copying the dictionary front to back. X then went on to be a political rights leader who fought a corrupt government with black power. X sees the theft in the government system and how it is unfair to most minority communities. Seeing this theft in the system gives him the idea to do the same against the government. He uses the knowledge that belongs to the government and uses them to fuel his own causes. To start his battle on government corruption he writes his Autobiography and the essay “Learning to Read” is a section of it. This essay describes how he turns the white man’s oppression into life’s biggest opportunity to him. In this paper, I

    Read More

  • Animal Symbolism in Native Son by Richard Wright

    1446 Words  | 3 Pages

    Animal Symbolism in Native Son by Richard Wright. Two rats and a cat are used as symbols in Richard Wright's Native Son. The rats, one found in an alley and the other in Bigger's apartment, symbolize Bigger. Mrs. Dalton's white cat represents white society, which often takes the form of a singular character.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Identity In A Bird In The House

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    In A Bird in the House, Margaret Laurence is able to incorporate many themes and motifs into her stories such as, war, tragedy, religion, and faith. Another theme that is also shown throughout the book is identity, both national and individual identity. National identity is defined as “ a sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, etc.”, while individual identity is what makes a person unique, it is what a person believes, thinks and feels. Sometimes in life identity gets mixed up and can become a confusing aspect of life. People are a product of their environment, which is a factor in shaping identity. The protagonist in the book, Vanessa MacLeod, witnesses and experiences both types of identity. She sees the influence of the Canadian national identity in her Grandfather Connor, Scottish heritage in her Grandmother MacLeod, Irish heritage in her Uncle Dan, which ultimately influence Vanessa’s personal identity.

    Read More

  • The Symbolic Role of Birds in Kate Chopin's The Awakening

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Awakening by Kate Chopin is a truly enlightening novel about a young woman who begins to really live her life for herself, breaking out of the various barriers of society and family. Chopin uses symbolism as an excellent tool to slip her ideas to readers, causing them to think, giving readers a glimpse into the life of this young woman at a time when women were harnessed by many restraints. The birds that appear throughout the novel are the most intriguing symbols; they are used many different ways, to mean many different things, and to portray various emotions and situations.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Nature In Sarah Orne Jewett's A White Heron

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Flourishing nature is most beauteous in areas which have not been maimed by the human race. The idea that spiritual and philosophical wellness can be found in nature is supported world-wide. Many different cultures use their eco-rich surroundings to become more spiritually/philosophically endowed. In the short story “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett there are two fundamental relationships with society and nature that reflect the author’s point of view in support of this idea. The first is a good example of how nature can positively affect the spiritual/philosophical wellness of a person through an appreciative, loving, and tolerant relationship (Sylvia). The second is a destructive, parasitic relationship that is only beneficial to one party (the hunter). Sylvia struggles with her loyalty to her own innocence and respect of nature because of the exciting new possibilities the hunter promises to her. I will elaborate on topics such as the nature of Sylvia’s relationships, the narrator’s point of view, and the writing style in the text to demonstrate an understanding of how the author saw the relationship of society and nature in “A White Heron”.

    Read More

  • Fowl Symbolism Used in Poetry

    1533 Words  | 4 Pages

    Symbolism had a large impact on the writers of the nineteen century similar to the effect it places in literature today. Symbolism is explained in these terms, “Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another to give it an entirely different meaning much deeper and more significant.”(Batova) The more significant meaning is often overlooked upon first inspection but when read again a new understanding can be developed. One symbol often used in poetry during this gothic time period of the nineteenth was the use of a bird as a type of omen. The Albatross in Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, is shot from the sky and many terrible things ensue after it’s death and it is seen as an omen to the sailors aboard the ship. Yet another poem contains an omen presented in the form of a bird, namely a raven from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven which contains a foreboding air and creates an ominous feeling as to the impending death or doom of the narrator. The two birds can be compared by their appearance, the actions, and the influence they have upon the narrator of their respective poems, creating an image of a bird representing much more than another living creature.

    Read More

  • birds/psycho analysis

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most powerful recurring themes in these two Hitchcock's films is the procession of domineering mothers.

    Read More

  • Religion and Stephen in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Imagery Pattern of Clouds in the Portrait of an Artist by James Joyce

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce is widely recognized by New Critics as one of the greatest novels of its age for its aesthetic artistry. In the Portrait, a powerful autobiographical novel of bildungsroman, commonly known as a coming-of-age story, that follows the life of Irish protagonist Stephen Dedalus, Joyce portraits his momentous transition to adulthood as a passage of psychological struggle towards his ultimate philosophical awakening and his spiritual rebirth as an artist. Most visibly in Chapter Four of the novel, Stephen Dedalus, after the denial of his own priesthood, goes on to seek his artistic personality through his secluded journey amongst a myriad of natural elements. Dramatizing the Stephen’s progression towards his artistic revelation, Joyce deployed numerous image patterns that together insinuate the spiritual transformation of Stephen Dedalus into an “impalpable imperishable being” out of the earthly body of which he is composed of (Joyce 108). Specifically, Stephen’s intellectual transfiguration is largely connected with the symbolic connotations of the clouds depicted throughout his journey, which alludes to his transcending soul, wafting across the celestial heaven yet hovering intimately close to the earth that he belongs.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Birdman

    1612 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film Birdman is truly a unique experience. Birdman wrenches the viewer through the scenes visually as well as emotionally. The viewer is pulled back the curtain into the life of Riggan Thomson a man in the middle of a major mid life crises financially and emotionally. The audience is slowly filled in on how Thomson got into the position of his shattered state of life all while looking over the shoulder, hovering around or looking through the very lens of Michael Keaton’s character. Thompson, who it becomes very apparent from the first scene is already emotionally weathered is pouring all he has left in his life into his Broadway play an adaptation of a short story on love by Raymond

    Read More

More about Bird Imagery in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Open Document