A Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man Main Points
A Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man Main Points
A Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man Main Points
ublin, Zurich D A T E O F F I R S T P U B L I C A T I O N 1916 P U B L I S H E R B. W. Huebsch, New York N A R R A T O R The narrator is anonymous, and speaks with the same voice and tone that
Stephen might.
P O I N T O F V I E W Although most of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is in the third
person, the point of view is Stephen's: as Stephen develops as a person, the language and perspective of the narration develop with him. We see everything in the manner in which he thinks and feels it. At the very end of the novel, there is a brief section in which the story is told through Stephen's diary entries. This section is in the first person.
T O N E The tone is generally serious and introspective, especially during Stephen's several
heartfelt epiphanies.
T E N S E Past S E T T I N G ( T I M E ) 18821903 S E T T I N G ( P L A C E ) Primarily Dublin and the surrounding area P R O T A G O N I S T Stephen Dedalus M A J O R C O N F L I C T Stephen struggles to decide whether he should be loyal to his family,
Arnall's hellfire sermons; his temporary devotion to religious life; his realization that he must confront the decision of whether to center his life around religion or art
C L I M A X Stephen's decision in Chapter 4 to reject the religious life in favor of the life of an
artist
F A L L I N G A C T I O N Stephen's enrollment in University College, where he gradually forms
his aesthetic theory; Stephen's distancing of himself from his family, church, and nation
T H E M E S The development of individual consciousness; the pitfalls of religious extremism;
his ultimate acceptance of the life of an artist. Additionally, Joyce often refers to Stephen's vague sense, even very early in his life, that a great destiny awaits him. CHARACTERS * Stephen Dedalus; Simon Dedalus; Mary Dedalus; The Dedalus Children; Emma
Clery; Mr. John Casey; Charles Stewart Parnell; Dante (Mrs. Riordan); Uncle Charles; Eileen Vance; Father Conmee; Father Dolan; Wells; Athy; Brother Michael; Fleming; Father Arnall; Aubrey Mills; Vincent Heron; Boland and Nash; Cranly; Davin; McCann; Temple; Dean of Studies; Johnny Cashman