Stephen in A Portrait of the Artist by James Joyce Essay -- James Joyc

Stephen in A Portrait of the artificer by pack JoyceStephen Dedalus, the of import character in nigh of James Joyces writings, is said to be a reflection of Joyce himself. In A Portrait of the Artist as a schoolgirlish Man, the reader follows Stephen as he develops from a young sister into a young artist, overcoming many conflicts both internally and externally, and narrowly escaping a life long commitment to the clergy. Through Joyces use of free confirmatory air, all of Stephens speech, actions, and thoughts are filtered through the narrator of the story. However, since Joyce so strongly identifies with Stephen, his characters look and personality greatly influence the narrator. This use of free indirect style and stylistic contagion makes Joyces use of descriptive language 1 of his most valuable tools in accurately depicting Stephen Dedaluss developing ideals of feminine beauty.As a very young electric shaver Stephen is taught to idealize the Virgin bloody shame for her purity and holiness. She is described to Stephen as a tower of Ivory and a House of Gold (p.35). Stephen takes this literally and becomes confused as to how these beautiful elements of bead and gold could make up a human being. This confusion is substantial in that it shows Stephens inability to grasp abstraction. He is a young child who does not yet earn how someone sight say one thing and mean something else. This also explains his trouble in the future with declaration the riddles and puzzles presented to him by his classmates at Clongowes. Stephen is very thoughtful and observant and looks for his own means to explain or rationalize the things that he does not understand. In this agency he can find those traits that he associates with the Blessed Mary in his pro... ...human desires and realizes how beautiful love, passion, and devotion can be from an artists perspective. Stephan Dedaluss transformation into a non-Christian priest of the arts is parallel to t he early life of James Joyce. Both shinny to deal with the conflicts of childhood and adolescence to find a balance in which they can happily live. Since A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is written in third person, yet employs the characteristics of the protagonist, Stephen Dedalus, the use of descriptive language is essential to the readers understanding of the novel as a whole. James Joyce excellently uses his talent to successfully communicate Stephens feelings so that we, the reader, can understand the development of his attitudes and ideals about feminine beauty.Works CitedJoyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. New York Penguin Group,1977.