General A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man tells the story of Stephen Dedalus, a boy growing up in Ireland at the

end of the nineteenth century, as he gradually decides to cast off all his social, familial, and religious constraints to live a life devoted to the art of writing. His name is carefully chosen,Stephen Dedalus,referring to the Myth of Daedalus. Myth of Daedalus Daedalus was a renowned craftsman and inventor who built the labyrinth for King Minos(in order to imprison the Minotaur).He was imprisoned in his own creation by King Minos and in order to escape he constructed a pair of wings for his son,Icarus and for him. He warned Icarus not to fly too low lest his wings touch the waves and get wet, and not too high lest the sun melt the wax.But Icarus was so overwhelmed by the situation and flew too close to the sun and his wings melted and fell into the sea.On the other hand,Daedalus,his father,managed to escape the labyrinth. Throughout the novel,he oscilates between these two extremes and we can observe him as a halved person,he has both parts of Icarus and Daedalus. Themes
1. 2. 3. 4. The Development of Individual Consciousness The Pitfalls of Religious Extremism The Role of the Artist The Need for Irish Autonomy

The Development of Individual Consciousness We can observe Stephens thoughts and attitudes through the stream of consciousness(a
style in which the author directly transcribes the thoughts and sensations that go through a character's mind, rather than simply describing those sensations from the external standpoint of an observer ) which makes

the novel a bildungsroman,a story of development.

In the first chapter,Stephen is only capable of describing his world in simple words and phrases. His sensations are all jumbled up. He has no idea what the aduls talk about.As a child,he is not aware of the social,political or religious constraints,but as he becomes a teenager his life will revolve around those aspects. Teenager-becomes obsessed with religion,he is able to think clearer(paragraphs are more logically ordered ) He is more mature and he is aware of the surroundings.Nontheless,he still trusts blindly in the church In the final chapter-Joyce renders a portrait of a mind that has achieved emotional,intellectual and artistic adulthood.

The Pitfalls of Religious Extremism Stephen was brought up in a devout Catholic family and as a teenager,this belief leads him to 2 extremes:-SIN(repeatedly sleeping with prostitutes and deliberately turning his back on religion) -Father Arnalls speech makes him aware of the aspect of religion and prompts him to return to Catholicism, he bounces to the other extreme, becoming a perfect, near fanatical model of religious devotion and obedience.
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Stephen realizes that both of these lifestylesthe completely sinful and the completely devoutare extremes that have been false and harmful. He does not want to lead a completely debauched life, but also rejects austere Catholicism because he feels that it does not permit him the full experience of being human. Stephen ultimately reaches a decision to embrace life and celebrate humanity after seeing a young girl wading at a beach. To him, the girl is a symbol of pure goodness and of life lived to the fullest.(realizes that appreciating beauty is not a thing to be ashamed of). The Development of Individual Consciousness Stephen's decision at the end of the novelto leave his family and friends behind and go into exile in order to become an artistsuggests that Joyce sees the artist as a necessarily isolated figure. In his decision, Stephen turns his back on his community, refusing to accept the constraints of political involvement, religious devotion, and family commitment that the community places on its members.However, though the artist is an isolated figure, Stephen's ultimate goal is to give a voice to the very community that he is leaving,he envisions his writing as a service to the community. The Need for Irish Autonomy Irish have always been a subservient people, allowing outsiders to control them. In his conversation with the dean of studies at the university, he realizes that even the language of the Irish people really belongs to the English. Stephens perception on this situation has two effects on his development as an artist: 1. First, it makes him determined to escape the bonds that his Irish ancestors have accepted. As we see in his conversation with Davin, Stephen feels an anxious need to emerge from his Irish heritage as his own person, free from all the traditional values. 2. Second, Stephen's perception makes him determined to use his art to reclaim autonomy for Ireland. Using the borrowed language of English, he plans to write in a style that will be both autonomous from England and true to the Irish people. Transformations 1.Sheltered little boy(during his first years at Clongowes)->Bright student(who understands social interactions and begins to make sense of the world around him). 2.Innocence->Debauchery(when he sleeps with a prostitute in Dublin) 3.Sinner->Devout Catholic(when he hears Father Arnalls speech) 4.Greatest transformation- Near fanatical religiousness ->Devotion to art and beauty(this transformation takes place when he is offered a job in priesthood and he refuses)
Stephen's refusal and his subsequent epiphany on the beach mark his transition from belief in God to belief in aesthetic beauty. This transformation continues through his college years. By the end of his time in college, Stephen has become a fully formed artist, and his diary entries reflect the independent individual he has become.