A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

The first novel of Irish author James Joyce is titled A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man. Stephen Dedalus describes his early years in a voice that is not his own yet is sensitive to his sentiments, using vocabulary that evolves as he does. Stephen is coming to grips with the world, and the reader experiences his worries and confusion with him. Word gets throughout Clongowes Wood College that some guys have been caught "smuggling."When Stephen's father incurs debt, the family vacates their comfortable suburban house and moves to Dublin. Stephen is aware that he won't be going back to Clongowes.The boys in Stephen's class are taken on a religious retreat while the author indulges in sensuous pleasures. Stephen gives the passages on pride, guilt, retribution, and the Four Last Things particular attention (death, judgment, Hell, and Heaven).Both his mother and father criticize him for returning to the Church. He concludes that Ireland's limitations prevent him from expressing himself as an artist fully. He declares his links to his home country before leaving for his self-imposed exile.