James Joyce Study Questions, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

E212: British Literature since 1760

James Joyce Study Questions

Alfred Drake. Office: 423 UH | W 12-1 | ajdrake@ajdrake.com

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Part I (1-61)

1. Stephen's father Simon Dedalus, Simon's friend John Casey the ex-Fenian, and the family governess Dante Riordan, a devout supporter of the priests who disowned Charles Parnell over his adultery with Kitty O'Shea, get into an argument over religion and politics during a Christmas dinner. (28-39) What are their respective positions, and what effect does the arguing have on young Stephen?

2. Aside from learning a bit of Latin and such, Stephen undergoes an intense brand of “socialization” at Clongowes. Discuss one or two of his experiences with adults and/or his fellow students—is the future artist Stephen like other kids, or is there something special about his thoughts and sensibilities (his way of feeling, hearing, seeing, interpreting what others say, etc.)?

3. Stephen's first experiences with the opposite sex deserve some attention. How does he relate to his playmate, Eileen Vance, and what associations does he make between her and the liturgical phrases “ Tower of Ivory ” and “House of Gold”? (34-35, 43)

4. Fathers Arnall and Dolan give Stephen his first taste of discipline at Clongowes. What is the occasion of this “initiation,” and how does Stephen respond to his punishment? (49-61)

Part II (62-108)

5. How does Stephen respond to the political talk of his uncle Charles and others and to his natural environment? What begins to separate him from ordinary children as the chapter wears on, so that, as the narrator says on page 67, "he was different from others"?

6. How does "the night of the Whitsuntide play" at Belvedere (76-91) suggest the changes that are coming over Stephen as he moves into adolescence: What kind of relationships does he have with friends such as Heron and Wallis? How do you interpret the significance of the argument the boys had over Lord Byron? (82-86) How has he begun to understand the various "voices" swirling around him? (88)

7. How does Stephen experience the onset of sexual desire and what is his initiation into full sexuality like? (96-108)

8. What accounts for the alienation Stephen feels towards his father? (96-108) Joyce's novels and stories often dwell upon the difficulties in cultural and generational continuity; how do Stephen's thoughts about his father Simon reflect on those difficulties?

Part III (109-58)

9. Much of this chapter (109-46) is taken up with Father Arnall's excruciatingly detailed fire-and-brimstone sermons about the perils of sin and the physical and spiritual torments of the damned. What effect do the sermons have on Stephen as he listens to them? In what sense is his response purely conventional?

10. From 147-158, the narrative describes Stephen's thoughts and actions after the sermons have ended, culminating in his confession of sins to a priest. What is the psychological effect of the confession?

Part IV (159-87)

11. From 159-66, Stephen is in a state of otherworldly ecstasy following his absolution from sin in the previous section, but from 166-173, he listens to the Belvedere school Director's advice about possible entry into the priesthood. How does the Director describe the benefits of becoming a Jesuit priest? And why, on 174-75, does Stephen decide very promptly that the priesthood is not for him?

12. From 176-82, how does Stephen view his family and friends after making his fateful decision to reject the path of priesthood? How does he now see the difference between them and himself?

13. From 183-87, Stephen muses on the course he must now pursue. What new significance does his name, "Dedalus," now take on for him, and why?

14. From 185-87, Stephen undergoes an epiphany of sorts. Characterize this important moment of revelation--what does Stephen see? What does he intuit about his own powers, and about the world around him, from this vision?

Part V (188-276)

15. From 190-94, how does Stephen assess his current state of preparation for becoming the artist he wants to be? How much help will his learning be to him? Why doesn't his mother (188-89) want him to continue with his education by matriculating to University College, Dublin?

16. From 195-99 (and elsewhere), Stephen converses with Davin, and then from 200-06 with the Dean, an English Protestant converted to Jesuit Catholicism. What accounts for his distance from the two--the young fellow student and the old man?

17. From 208-20, Stephen argues with some schoolmates--McCann in particular, about the importance of the era's latest social and political goings-on. How does Stephen justify his lack of concern over such events and demands--why doesn't he care much about universal peace and Irish nationalism?

18. From 221-33, Stephen offers his friend Lynch a budding theory of aesthetics. What are some of the main issues with which Stephen is concerned, and how does he propose to deal with them? (Consider what he says about sublime art and kinetic art; and his treatment of lyric, epic, and dramatic forms. Which of the three does he consider best, and why?)

19. From 234-45, Stephen, having caught sight of his old love interest, Emma Clare, reflects on what she has meant to him. What accounts for his ambivalence towards Emma? What are his reflections concerning the poem he has written about Emma?

20. From 258-69, Stephen converses with his friend Cranly. What advice does he offer Stephen? How does this friend assist Stephen as he moves forward and takes the first steps towards indepence and life as an artist--that is, what insights does Stephen achieve because of his interaction with Cranly?

21. From 270-76, A Portrait concludes with some journal entries. What is the subject of these entries, and what insights about Stephen's state of mind does the style of the entries give you?

22. In his final journal entry, Stephen writes that he will "forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." (276) To what extent might we see Stephen's life up to this point as an embodiment of Modernist claims about the relationship between an artist and his work, and between that work and the artist's society and historical epoch?

Edition: Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. New York: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0142437344.