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

* a note from the blogger *

For the sake of my sanity (and wrists) I will be shortening the title of this work to Portrait. I know that this is very forward of me, as I don't have his express permission, but I hope that Joyce (may he rest in peace) will forgive my casualness.

At least I haven't started calling him J.J.

* end of note *

Yes, readers, I went from reading one daunting piece of Joycian literature to another. But before you ask me, "Why would you subject yourself to another difficult stream of consciousness 20th Century classic?," know that I enjoyed this one a great deal more. Portrait is not nearly as long (a relaxing 255 pages), nor is is it complex in its structure. In fact, I wish I had read this piece first, for two reasons: One, it would have been allowed me time to acclimate to Joyce's writing style, and two, Ulysses is, in a way, a sequel to this book. Portrait was written 6 years earlier, and describes the childhood and early adult life of Stephen Dedalus, the first main character introduced in Ulysses. For anyone wanting to read both books, I suggest you do so in chronological order: Although both pieces are truly independent of each other, it's nice to have a little background on the character.

Stephen is, like most young men and women, questioning his belief in God and the role of a structured education. He starts his education as small pious child, following his parents' orders and attending a school run by Jesuits. Stephen finds beauty and importance everywhere, which makes for vivid descriptions of the world around him. Stephen is hyper aware of his surroundings hyper aware, as he experiences his fluctuating hot and cold sensations, both physically and mentally. He then goes through a vicious teenage rebellion, in which he squanders his families hard earned money on prostitutes, and generally sins a lot. As if this radical change wasn't enough, he then suddenly finds the light of God, and almost joins the priesthood. The last chapter of the book, we find Stephen somewhere in the middle: a man who feels that God may not exist, and yet fears that he might be. He also debates whether a formal education is necessary to acquiring knowledge, when so much can be learned from observation.

What makes all of Joyce's novels interesting is their lack of a climax or conflict. Stephen is living his life, and while he experiences many ups and downs, there is not one pivotal moment in which the fate of the characters are decided. Joyce teaches us, in a way, that nothing in life is decided; that life is a series of thousands of choices, each of which alters the course of our life.

Calling this book a "portrait" is really an accurate description: Every aspect of Stephen's personality, from his hopes for the future to his theory on what makes something beautiful (one of the most intriguing passages in my opinion) , is masterfully rendered by Joyce. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it.