A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Finished!

After reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, I am happier than ever about this little reading project. First of all, this is a book that I never would have considered reading, and second of all, if I had, I am certain that I would have given up on it after the first ten pages. Knowing that by reading this book cover to cover, I was reaching my goal kept me turning the pages.

That being said, it was not my favorite book by a long shot. However, I did appreciate the messages of personal freedom, self discovery, and following your true path. At first, Stephen was a character whose weakness annoyed me but it was cool to see the transition that he made throughout the story. In the beginning of the book he is observing everyone around him in a very meek manner and is quoting the words of famous artists and scholars. I thought that it was so interesting that the last section of the book is written in journal form. Although the writing isn't as polished as the rest of the book, it is very authentically Stephen. After years of struggling and searching for who he is, Stephen Dedalus finally found his own voice.

I love page 65 when Stephen is realizing just how alienated he is and shows his longing to find himself, his own soul.

"He wanted to meet in the real world the unsubstantial image which his soul so constantly beheld. He did not know where to seek it or how, but a premonition which led him on told him that this image would, without any overt act of his, encounter him. They would meet quietly as if they had known each other and had made their tryst, perhaps at one of the gates or in some more secret place. They would be alone, surrounded by darkness and silence: and in that moment of supreme tenderness he would be transfigured. He would fade into something impalpable under her eyes and then in a moment he would be transfigured. Weakness and timidity and inexperience would fall from him in that magic moment."

I thought that he was talking about meeting who he was destined to be and I liked it because it showed that he recognized that he was weak and timid. However, he could also be talking being with a girl for the first time. I can't tell which it is.

It is interesting that Stephen does everything that he feels he is supposed to do and is devoted to the church and lives by all of its principles, but in doing so has become colorless. "I have amended my life, have I not", he says. This is where I began to get excited about the decisions he was about to make.

I think that there are many lessons in this book. I learned to listen to your own mind and choose your own beliefs, ideas, and paths. Do not just accept what you are told. We are all meant to follow our own paths regardless of what you are told and taught. Above all, find your own voice.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Chapter One

First chapter is finished and I am still undecided on how I like this book.

First of all, I'm not a huge fan of books with only a few long chapters. I'd much rather have a tonne of short chapters so that I can read a little bit here and there. Kinda of a weird thing about me but its just the way it is. Deal with it. (Or I will).

I find that its a lot easier to read than Wuthering Heights however I am enjoying the story less. It seems to be based on religion and politics in Ireland in the 1900s. The characters in the book are so intense on their beliefs that I couldn't help but think that there were actually other underlying issues. But as far as I can tell, this is what they are most passionate about. It reminds me a bit of my Pa going nuts and screaming over family dinners about hockey.

I do like Stephen but I feel so sorry for him most of the time. He seems like such a misunderstood, introverted, and dumbstruck boy. I am rooting for him and am hoping that grows into a much stronger and aware man who knows himself much more than he does now.

Back to reading!
I'm hoping that in the next few chapters a love story evolves because once those reveal themselves I can get pretty hooked on a book.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

The next book I'm reading is A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. I am excited about his one because James Joyce is from Ireland, just like my family on my fathers side is. He is writing in a time when my grandfather James was alive so I'm hoping to get a bit of insight into what growing up was like for him. This is the first book I had to purchase and luckily found it straight away at the used book store. I'm hoping to get all of these books second hand, not only to keep costs down but I love the feel of an old book.

So here's the summary!

Set in Ireland in the late nineteenth century, Portrait is a semi-autobiographical novel about the education of a young Irishman, Stephen Dedalus, whose background has much in common with Joyce’s. Stephen’s education includes not only his formal schooling but also his moral, emotional, and intellectual development as he observes and reacts to the world around him. At the center of the story is Stephen’s rejection of his Roman Catholic upbringing and his growing confidence as a writer. But the book’s significance does not lie only in its portrayal of a sensitive and complex young man or in its use of autobiographical detail. More than this, Portrait is Joyce’s deliberate attempt to create a new kind of novel that does not rely on conventional narrative techniques.

Rather than telling a story with a coherent plot and a traditional beginning, middle, and end, Joyce presents selected decisive moments in the life of his hero without the kind of transitional material that marked most novels written up to that time. The “portrait” of the title is actually a series of portraits, each showing Stephen at a different stage of development. And, although this story is told in a third-person narrative, it is filtered through Stephen’s consciousness. Finally, the book can be read as Joyce’s artistic manifesto and a declaration of independence—independence from what Joyce considered the restrictive social background of Catholic Ireland and from the conventions that had previously governed the novel as a literary genre. More than eighty years after its publication, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man continues to be regarded as a central text of early twentiethcentury modernism.

I'm armed with my glossary of Irish words and Latin phrases and am ready to rock. So excited about this one as it was on all three of the lists that I combined. Must be good if so many people think highly of it!