A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Title: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Author: James Joyce
ISBN: 1556904215 (Audio Book)
Narrator: Donal Donnelly

Plot Summary: Stephen Daedalus is a young man growing up in Dublin, Ireland at the turn of the century. He is raised in a loving family, goes to good schools, and receives a fine academic and religious education, considering at one point becoming a member of the clergy. As he grows older, though, he grows increasingly disillusioned with what he has been taught to believe, and yearns to grow beyond the geographical and intellectual borders that have been set up for him.


Critical Evaluation: This book is one of Joyce's more accessible works. It is relatively brief, is written more or less in chronological order, and is told from the point of view of a single protagonist, undergoing a fairly typical coming of age story. The story it tells and the protagonist it describes, though neither is entirely unique in literature, are depicted in a fresh and engaging way, with a vivid use of language and imagery and strong character development. For a teenage reader wishing to explore Joyce's works, this is probably one of the best places to start. For more reluctant readers, Donal Donnelly's narration on the audio book lends an engaging and genuine voice to Joyce's young protagonist.

Reader's Annotation: There is much that young Stephen Daedalus does not understand, but he is willing to believe what the priests and his parents tell him at first. However, as he grows older and his consciousness expands, he questions the things he has been taught and decides he must leave turn-of-the-century Ireland to further fulfill his dreams.

About the Author: James Joyce was born in 1882 in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest of ten children. His family was relatively well off, and he began writing at an early age. He was educated by the Jesuits and Christian Brothers as a child and adolescent, but gradually grew disillusioned with the Catholic Church. He studied modern languages at University College in Dublin, where he became active in the local theater and literary scene. After his marriage in 1904, he traveled to other European countries for long periods of time, only returning to Dublin on occasion, while pursuing his literary career. The majority of his works are short and novel-length adult fiction, written in his distinctive stream-of-consciousness style; however, he also wrote poetry and dabbled in various entrepreneurial schemes in addition to his writing. He died in Zurich of complications from a perforated ulcer in 1941.

Genre: Fiction: Coming of Age

Curriculum Ties: Philosophy, World Religions

Booktalking Ideas:

Hook: The priest's description of Hell to young Stephen and his classmates.
Approach: Scene-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: The priest in this scene uses highly detailed and disturbing imagery to detail the horrors of Hell to his young charges. What effect does this have on Stephen, and why? Discuss the extent to which the priest's monologue is based on genuine belief, and to what extent he says it with the ulterior motive of convincing the boys to join the priesthood.

Hook: Stephen is ready to join the clergy as a young adolescent, but only a few years later he has grown disillusioned with the Church.
Approach: Character-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: What happened to Stephen between then and now? Examine events in his earlier and later life that could be clues as to what caused this change of heart. The priest's speech convinced him at first: on further examination, did it turn him off? Because he came not to believe in what it described, or simply because he felt the priest was lying to him? Could develop into a larger discussion of the difference between religion and spirituality.

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 10+

Challenge Issues: Religious viewpoint. Catholic readers may feel that this book paints an ultimately negative picture of their church, and the protagonist's rejection of his faith. The clergy in the book, however, as well as Stephen's parents, are kind and well-intentioned in teaching him their beliefs, and certainly mean him no harm. As his religious disillusionment is not necessarily permanent, but could be a facet of his growth as a young man, there is also no indication that he might not come to believe again at a later date, after some examination. As this book, on the whole, contains far less controversial or potentially offensive material than much of Joyce's other work, I would argue that the benefits of keeping such a book on the shelves far outweigh the drawbacks.

Why I Chose This Book: This was the first Joyce I ever read, and still remains one of my favorites. Its various scenes and events, most notably the priest's description of Hell, left a strong impact on me as a teenager. As an adult re-listening to this work, I find I am more able now to appreciate Stephen's character development arc, and the organic progression it takes throughout the book. Although not as famous as Finnegan's Wake or Ulysses, Portrait of the Artist is a strong work of Joyce's that teenage readers deserve the chance to discover.