A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man published in 1916 is the story of Stephen Dedalus and the narrative provides an oblique self-portrait of the author himself.Divided into five sections Joyces first novel follows Stephens life from childhood through adolescence to the first flush of manhood. As Stephen matures through various family conflicts and periods of study at Jesuit schools he begins to rebel against his family his religion and his nation. Finally in order to establish himself as an individual and to find his identity as an artist he seeks self-imposed exile in Paris.Joyces manipulation of the narrative itself-the language and syntax used at each point in the book-reflect the age and intellectual development of Stephen at that time. Essentially we are given a window into Stephens consciousness and the whole world is unveiled to us through that single aperture.