Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Portrait of the Artist Parts 1 & 2
In the comment box below, please identify a passage in A Portrait parts 1& 2 and use your skills at explication to read deeply into what is going on in the passage. What motifs do you notice? Words? Themes and complexities that are being explored? What is the tone like compared to the rest of the novel? Treat the passage as a classic Question 2.
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Pages 40-41 Sydney Iwohn
ReplyDeleteJust after Stephan is punished for losing his glasses, he spends a while on he subject of Holy Communion and the role that wine plays. He plays with the idea of wine being a means of both sin and the forgiveness thereof. He recalls his first communion and the people who stole the monstrance through details and childish babbling.
"But God was not in it of course when they stole it,: is a very powerful line because God is supposed to be omnipresent. Churches, especially, are considered the house of God and saying He was not there during the theft implies that he is never anywhere or doesn't exist. "But it was still a great sin even to touch it" continues to explain the absurdity of a God, that even though He was not there, there was something that opposed and offended Him.
Stephan then goes on to describe wine with great reverence. But everything that may be good about wine is outweighed by the smell of the rector's breath. Stephan's first communion will always be tied with the negative memory. This is further enforced by the anecdote about Napoleon. The anecdote seems to be uplifting the idea of communion, but with a little research (or footnote) the reader knows that Napoleon renounced the church, and that the story is probably untrue. This puts down the idea of a God and religion.
Contrasting the use of wine adds to the unsure feeling he gets about religion. He talks about people stealing and drinking it to get drunk, which is generally frowned upon in the Christian faith as wine is seen as apart of Jesus. He never once mentions the purpose of communion; to remember the last supper and the sacrifice Jesus made. to Stephan, communion is just when you smell the rector's bad breath. He gets a sickening feeling when thinking of it, even though it represents Jesus's blood and is meant to clean the soul and forgive sins.
“A Portrait of the Artist” is written in the mindset and tone of a growing and advancing boy. The novel begins with Stephen Dedalus as a young boy, and to coincide with this, all of the thoughts and observations made are jumbled and out of place, disconnected from one to the next and lacking in opinions or personal analyses, much like a child’s mind and much like an older boy’s memories of his young mind, remembering and developing from only his most vivid experiences. As he grows, more information is noticed and included and Stephen’s thought process becomes more clearly defined as he progresses and experiences more vivid occurrences.
ReplyDeleteAs any child grows, they try to understand everything and try to be older and more mature than they are capable of reaching. In the earlier of Stephen’s school days, he notices in his geography book that there are many different places in the world, too many to know them all, too many places in too many different countries in different continents in different points around the world, all comprising one small dot of the universe. This is the first point in the book where Stephen notices something that could seem like a childish sing-song joke but is truly a huge observation on how small we are compared to the rest of the universe. Something that only a child can comprehend, for a child has not yet been given the responsibility of taking care of himself or others, nor has he made decisions of his own that impact anything in the big picture of life. So he recognizes how small he is; just one, young person, one small part of the framework of his nation and an even smaller part-so small that at times seems inconsequential and forgettable-of the workings of the world. Not only does Stephen realize how small he is, he realizes how large the universe is, how much it has to offer him and how much he will never reach or accomplish, “...very big to think about everything and everywhere” (Joyce 27). He will never be able to know how much he will never know and will always be an outsider on one topic or another. He gets stuck trying to figure out where the universe ends and how it ends, because there must be a limit on everything, but if there is a wall that bounds the universe inside it, what is outside of the wall?
Stephen realizes how big the universe is and how much it contains, but he cannot comprehend it, labeling this feat as something only God can accomplish, because God exists everywhere and is understood by everyone, and not only that but any identity that one pastes on will never take away from God’s true identity. Unlike Stephen, who is at times a school boy racing away at math problems, at times a shy young boy, a follower of the big boys on the playground, and at times a foolish child who hides underneath the table, God connects with many different places in the many different countries and continents, accepted and respected by all; a dream that most humans aspire for but never fulfill. At this very point, Stephen feels so inferior that he even believes that there are people, advanced adults, who actually understand the boundaries of the universe and the size of it all. These thoughts foreshadow what may be part of his personal purpose in life; to make sense of it all and be bigger than what he was assigned to be. It also coincides with Stephen’s behavior in Part Two; making lists of relevant names from his childhood and memorizing the extensive vocabulary his father and uncle seems to use. Also, it scared Stephen to visit his Father’s old college; he was awed, intimidated, and confused by the thought and image of many past generations having gone through this place, that this very real place with very real memories, unaccessible to Stephen, that seem so unreal and so distant from Stephen.
It pains him and embarrasses him that he cannot understand the greater working of the world, “he felt so small and weak” (Joyce 28) ; the universe, God, his entity, and even just politics, the favorite conversation of adults. How can he ever be intelligent and worldly if he cannot even join in the political debate that all of his adult superiors partake in? In this small passage, just a small working part of the novel, Stephen grows from a young child to a boy who wishes to be like the great “fellows in poetics and rhetoric”. He is starting to discover his interests and dreams and create his identity and ideas.
DeletePages 86-87
ReplyDeleteStephen Dedalus jumps around from place to place, different homes are common. Religion is thrown in his face starting with day 1. Emotions that takeover his being are pushed aside from those around him. His friends he meets still find a way to make fun of him. It seems that no one appreciates Stephen. No matter how hard the boy tries he is pushed away from what is supposed to mean a lot to him. Every family member is a ghost in the back of his mind floating around; he knows of them but as the years progress the names only remain. The faces his family wears are gradually becoming strangers.
Stephen takes some time and spends it with his father. Stories are shared and some bring the two closer, while others push apart. As the visit takes its course Stephen realizes he is far from being like his father. Stephen sits and stares, hoping that he will feel a connection.
Stephen is given a prize that contains money, he won it in a contest. There was a big portion of money that Stephen had no idea what to do with. He decided to spend it on his family. The night him and his father returned home, they all went out to dinner. The family was all happy they went out for once, but there were no thank yous being given. The whole reason Stephen spent the money on his family was to make himself feel happier, it ended up making him feel even worse. The dinner was an attempt to draw the family closer, it didn’t work.
“He felt that he was hardly of the one blood with them but stood to them rather in the mystical kinship of fosterage, foster child and foster brother.” It is one thing to feel distant from your own family, but to feel like you aren't even related in another. At this point Stephen finally got hit in the face with the truth. This is a big turning point in the eyes of Stephen, he begins to see the truth. From this point on Stephen tried to find love and appreciation elsewhere.
Pages 8-9 (e-book)
ReplyDeleteIn this section of James Joyce’s “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”, Stephen appears to be maturing not only physically as a young man, but mentally as well. Although it is still quite early in the story and Stephen has not reached full manhood, his thoughts and inquires become increasingly well-developed and demonstrate his curiosity of his surroundings and also his willingness to explore them further.This shows that, while his physical body may still be adolescent, his mind impressingly gains a vast amount of maturity. Since he lives in a country that is seemingly close-minded and unmistakably religious, it is necessary for Stephen to want to gain this “bigger picture” in order to make advancements into adulthood and into the life of an artist.
The religion and politics of Ireland play extremely vital roles in Stephen’s life. Prayer and religion are major motifs in the novel, and yet in this passage, Stephen’s intake of these things amplifies his artistic development as well as his profound need to explore the world beyond Ireland. “But, though there were different names for God in all the different languages in the world and God understood what all the people who prayed said in their different languages, still God remained always the same God and God’s real name was God” (Joyce 9). To the reader, this notion of the main character’s demonstrates his devotion to the Christian deity. However, I believe that there is an underlying need for escape and exploration within this quote, which is important because the idea of escape becomes more prevalent in the novel.
“A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” makes it clear that Irish politics and religion often clash. And as Stephen’s mind starts to wander onto this subject, the symbolism in the novel becomes more notable. For instance: “He wondered which was right, to be for green or maroon, because Dante had ripped the green velvet back off the brush that was for Parnell one day with her scissors and had told him that Parnell was a bad man...That was called politics” (Joyce 9-10). Although Irish politics give Stephen a sense of home, they also raise his curiosity of the world around him. And while he observes the political views of others, especially those at home, his own views and morals are gradually developing, eventually defining his future self.
The symbols and motifs that show themselves in this passage gravitate towards the major theme of the novel: Stephen’s growth into an artist. Much of the novel focuses on Stephen’s outlook on what is going on around him. However, the tone to which he has in this novel indicates that while he is looking out, he is also looking and exploring within himself. As he inquires about God and ponders on politics, Stephen is building upon his conscious and artistic development as a young man by observing all that surrounds him. This passage tells me that Ireland does not define him, but instead his artistic values to which he will eventually obtain.
The passage that I chose from chapter 1 in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a great piece to analyze that unfolds a lot about how the character, Stephen, thinks and what he believes in as a child. In the passage, the boy dives into three separate thoughts that work together to create a single picture of him. Stephen begins the passage discussing the drawing of the earth done by his peer, Fleming. Fleming had colored the earth green and the clouds maroon, precisely the same colors of political rivals Parnell and Davitt, respectively. The political issues dominating the small country of Ireland suddenly grew to a scale of the entire earth and sky. Stephen also follows this up with mentioning that he couldn’t learn all of the different countries on other continents, further supporting the idea that his world was the entire world.
ReplyDeleteTurning the page in his geography book, Stephen flipped to a sheet that continues on with his thoughts. He has made a list beginning with his name and specific location, then panning out to subsequently more vague locations, ending with the universe. He tried reading this list from bottom to top, but it didn’t make as much sense to him. From this thinking about the universe in its entirety, Stephen lastly drifted into thinking about God. He focuses on the fact that God’s name is God. He does have a different name in other languages, like DIEU in French, but when it came down to it, God’s name was actually God.
All of these questions and points that Stephen has brought up mesh quite well together as one larger idea and symbol. Their significance is in the picture that the reader gets painted for Stephen. Stephen innocently believes in his own world, and it only. The earth and sky was comprised of Ireland’s Parnell and Davitt debate. And the names of all other countries were irrelevant. In his list, Stephen’s name started the lineup that led to the universe, and yet couldn’t understand it backwards when the universe began before him. And bringing his beliefs beyond the universe to God, it was clear that Stephen’s God was the real God, and that it was preposterous to think any other.
Stephen solidified for the reader that his innocence is ignorance. He displays not a single doubt in any of his convictions. As the book continues, and Stephen grows older, this mindset is bound to bring trouble. He is surely going to arrive in situations that will bring challenges to this inexperienced view on life. This passage foreshadows that at some point in the novel there must be a moment of enlightenment within Stephen, and possibly some degree of a breakdown as he begins to doubt everything he once believed in as a child.
“There was cold sunlight outside the window. He wondered if he would die. You could die just the same on a sunny day. He might die before his mother came. Then he would have a dead mass in the chapel like the way the fellows had told him it was when Little had died. All the fellows would be at the mass, dressed in black, all with sad faces. Wells too would be there but no fellow would look at him. The rector would be there in a cape of black and gold and there would be tall yellow candles on the altar and round the catafalque. And they would carry the coffin out of the chapel slowly and he would be buried in the little graveyard of the community off the main avenue of limes. And Wells would be sorry then for what he had done. And the bell would toll slowly.”
ReplyDeleteThis quotation is found towards the middle of the first part of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It is when Stephen is in the infirmary and is feeling as if he may die, and is wanting to go home. I found this quotation to be particularly intriguing and important because it seems like Stephen, a young boy at the time, is realizing what death is. The quote seems to be centralized on Stephen’s depiction of death at his young age. This entire quotation shows how Stephen does not quite understand death yet. The language that James Joyce uses in this passage is very particular. For instance, when he says, “Then he would have a dead mass in the chapel,” by using the term “a dead mass” rather than a funeral or a memorial shows the innocence and inexperience that Stephen has had with the concept of death. He does not know the name “funeral”, and rather refers to it as “a dead mass”, to show that Stephen is still a child and is not familiar with that subject.
Also, in the phrase “All the fellows would be at the mass, dressed in black, all with sad faces,” we see that Stephen knows what typically happens at a funeral, but down not quite understand why yet. He knows that people dress in black and he knows that they are all sad, but Stephen does not give any hints to the reader that he does actually know what is happening, and why. We are given hints that Stephen knows how “dead masses” go, but we can also gather from Joyce’s language, that he does not quite understand the concept and the situation because of his innocence and young age.
Another interesting device used by Joyce is the representation of Stephen Dedalus’ stream of consciousness. This quote exemplifies this representation quite well. It shows how Stephen’s thoughts just keep running, without much filter. At the beginning of this passage, Stephen is feeling ill, and looking out of the window. By the time we reach the end of this paragraph though, his mind has taken him from the cold sunlight outside of the window, to a bell tolling after his coffin is carried away at his funeral. This thought pattern emphasizes the fact that Stephen is young and still has more of a child-like mind than not.
Another thing that I noticed in this quote is the imagery. Imagery is something that James Joyce consistently uses throughout the novel to convey his ideas. In this passage, I noted the use of some details that helped to better picture what he was describing. Such as the descriptions of the color of certain things, like “tall yellow candles”, or “cape of black and gold”. These colors and details add to Joyce’s somber and partly naive depiction of death.
In this first part of the novel, Joyce describes Stephen’s situations and thoughts with simple phrases, reminding the reader that he is only a child. Thoughts like these are apparent throughout the entire novel, but as he grows and develops, one can expect that the thoughts and feelings that Stephen describes will grow and develop as well. James Joyce’s careful language, subtle hints, imagery and representation of Stephen’s stream of consciousness all contribute to the impressions and reflections that the reader takes away from this novel.
Zachary Schultz
ReplyDeleteStephen is must apologize for what he has done. He has fallen for Eileen, the girl next door. When he tells his family that he will marry this girl, he is chastised because of Eileen’s Protestant beliefs. Joyce is utilizing this scene as a shuttle of setting description and background creation. Dante’s adverse reaction to this childish love highlights the conflict between the two churches. Dante blatantly represents the Catholic church within the story and by reacting in this way is telling a reader that is less educated on the religious “politics” going on within Ireland that the two belief systems are vehemently against each other. (We also see a similar representational conflict in the Christmas dinner scene where Dante fights as the religious population while Mr. Dedalus represents a population of Irish nationalists wishing for a separation of church and state.) From this scene a reader may also divine that Ireland has a very devout population.
This scene is also strong development of character. From this we see how problems may strike a character and how that character tries to solve them. Dante falls back on her religion, her beliefs guiding her every action. With no abandon for her familiar relations, Dante sticks to Catholicism to right what she views as Stephen’s wrongs. Stephen prefers to retreat into himself as well as create an eerie rhyme that shows off his childishness. Stephen’s mother, although a minor aspect to this scene, is also characterized in this manner as a mitigator, trying to quiet Dante while also attempting to draw out her child and get him to apologize. (These aspects of Dante and Mrs. Dedalus are also seen in the Christmas dinner scene.
The confrontation seen in this passage goes far beyond a simple teenage hustling. It starts out as a typical scene, but one will quickly notice that Stephen is among people who seem to be friends, an uncommon situation for the protagonist. This idea is quickly dismissed, however, by Heron’s question of who the greatest writer is. Stephen interprets the tone of this question as mocking, most likely because of past situations where Stephen brought up conflicting views. As expected from Heron’s earlier actions, he disregards Stephen’s answer by quickly changing the subject. Heron exhibits an assumed dominance within the group, thinking himself to be the more learned and intelligent of the boys. Stephen’s cold and adult-like thought does not comply with this assumption.
ReplyDeleteHeron then moves on to say the greatest poet is Lord Tennyson. This comment greatly upsets Stephen, who says Lord Tennyson is merely a “rhymester”, and that the greatest poet is Byron. The two fight over this issue, and Stephen continues to disvalue Heron’s tastes. While Stephen’s opinions seem to be more thoughtful and adult-like, such traits only lead to more ridicule by the gang, who are more viable to take a less intelligent route.
A major part of Heron’s argument is that Byron is a heretic, and the boys hold down and beat on Stephen for liking a “bad man”. This attack becomes more than just roughhousing as Heron blasts Stephen with a cane and Boland beats him with a cabbage stump. The brutality stems from the boys’ impression that Stephen is a heretic himself, a trait that is, apparently, not taken lightly by highly religious young men. If not just blind faith, however, this beating does appear to be out of the realm for a group of teenagers. Stephen had really done nothing wrong, yet he was tried as incredibly evil.
Towards the end of the passage, Stephen admits that he feels to anger towards those who assaulted him. This comment seems especially peculiar, as one could easily expect Stephen to despise his assailants. His lack of rage may stem from a higher understanding of the situation. Perhaps Stephen simply knows that resentment will not help him in any way, and even if he did not change the mind of the other boys, it is not important. This passiveness may hurt him in some situations, but here, his perspective saves him from further conflict.
Exact examined text can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EHVgfWxsdR_ZBjeHqDdRxHBo_zBUM5tIQUjlhY9ZYks/edit?usp=sharing
“It could not be a wall; but there could be a thin thin line there all round everything. It was very big to think about everything and everywhere. Only God could do that. He tried to think what a big thought that must be; but he could only think of God. God was God’s name just as his name was Stephen. DIEU was the French for God and that was God’s name too; and when anyone prayed to God and said DIEU then God knew at once that it was a French person that was praying. But, though there were different names for God in all the different languages of the world and God understood what all the people who prayed said in their different languages, still God remained always the same God and God’s real name was God.”
ReplyDeleteThis passage is found in the first section of Portrait of the Artist where Stephen is still a young boy in school. It is located after Stephen has his geography class and contemplates the universe, and how “universe” can be defined. Most adults cannot grapple with the idea of the universe, and it is very rare a child of Stephen’s age would work with a thought like this. However, the author contrasts Stephen’s childish tendencies with his intelligent thoughts in order to foreshadow their advanced growth and development, and help to characterize Stephen.
The passage immediately begins with Stephen’s use of improper grammar. He describes the boundary of the universe as “a thin thin line there all round everything.” Stephen’s language is almost cute, and very juvenile. He is obviously just a child. In contrast to this, the reader notes the subject of which Stephen is thinking about. Not only does Stephen think about it, but he also comes to the conclusion that his mind is not yet capable of thinking about this. He is already so aware of things at a prodigious level.
Stephen exhibits mimicking qualities that children often have at this age. We see that his father is a very stubborn man who sticks firmly to his beliefs in a superior way. When noting that God can be called upon in all different languages, Stephen declares that God is still God in English and nothing else. This behavior is very similar to that of his father’s at the Christmas dinner. He acknowledges the different beliefs but is determined that his way is the only way. Stephen may be mimicking his father subconsciously in a childish manner, but once again, he is doing so while contemplating yet another huge idea. Is God just a label? How is it possible that God is the same thing but can be so many different things? He deems it a way of identification, or a systematic method. Other children probably wouldn’t be able to even come to a conclusion like this, nor would they question it.
The religious enthusiasm Stephen’s family has influences the way that he thinks. Because he grew up thinking that God was the answer to everything, he immaturely assumes that God is the only being capable of burdening this thought. Children brought up in religious fashions have a similar mentality because as a child, it is easier to believe someone else’s thoughts than come up with your own. Adapting to other’s behaviors and beliefs is something Stephen does until he fully matures. This perspective is interesting because we see later on in the story that Stephen loses his religious beliefs. This shift is due to his maturing mind.
By presenting Stephen’s extreme intelligence in a situation where he otherwise acts like the young boy he is, the reader is alerted to the idea that Stephen’s mind will grow and develop enough to be able to handle thoughts like these.
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ReplyDeleteThis passage describes Stephen as he suffers through corporal punishment at the hands of Father Dolan. Stephen, at this time, had recently broken his glasses and was told not to work until he received a new pair. Upon seeing him not working, Father Dolan labels Stephen as “a lazy, idle little loafer,” and he decides to punish him because of this.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as Dolan to put out his hand, the tone of the passage shifts drastically. While, previously, the passage described Dolan's wild, chaotic rage, the pace slows down as Stephen closes his eyes and prepares himself for the pain.The entire passage is highly dramatized, in the same way that a child's mind would be. Joyce captures the essence of childhood dread in this passage. To Stephen, this corporal punishment seems to be like the most dreadful thing that could happen to him. Older readers are aware that the pain, while undoubtedly present, will be one that eventually dissipates. Stephen, however, is young enough that this punishment seems catastrophic. The slowing down of the tone adds to this dramatic mood, making it seem as if Stephen is going to be executed. In addition, Joyce goes into vivid detail of Stephen preparing himself for the pain, as he “held out in the air his trembling hand with the palm upwards.” Stephen seems entirely powerless at this time.
This passage is hyper-focused on the sense of touch, and, more specifically, the feeling of heat and burning. The narrator describes Stephen's pain as if he is being burned ( references to heat and burning are highlighted above). Certain words, such as “hot” and “scalding,” are repeated numerous times. This repetition captures the feeling of pain, where one is too panicked to use anything but the most basic terms. The references to heat can also be directly related back to the Icarus and Dedalus myth. In the story, Icarus had flown too close to the sun, and consequently his wings had melted. In the story Icarus had seemed to enjoy the heat, so much so that he got distracted by it and forgot his father’s rule, and, in the end, the heat of the sun was his downfall. In this passage of Portrait of the Artist, however, Stephen only uses heat to describe pain.
Joyce uses numerous different devices in this small passage, which contribute to the book as a whole. The slowing down of the previously chaotic and angry tone make it seem as if something terrible and world-shattering is about to happen, like the calm before a storm. In addition, Joyce consistently uses words that bring to mind heat and burning sensations. The repetition of these words only help to recreate Stephen's sense of panic. All of these different devices will remind readers of their own childhoods, in which certain events, which might not seem as bad in retrospect, were, at the time, catastrophic.
“They had set out early in the morning from Newcombe’s coffee-house, where Mr Dedalus’s cup had rattled noisily against its saucer, and Stephen had tried to cover that shameful sign of his father’s drinking bout of the night before by moving his chair and coughing. One humiliation had succeeded another--the false smiles of the market sellers, the curvetings and oglings of the barmaids with whom his father flirted, the compliments and encouraging words of his father’s friends. They had told him that he had a great look of his grandfather and Mr Dedalus had agreed that he was an ugly likeness. They had unearthed traces of a Cork accent in his speech and made him admit that the Lee was a much finer river than the Liffey. One of them, in order to put his Latin to the proof, had made him translate short passages from Dilectus and asked him whether it was correct to say: Tempora mutantur nos et mutamur in illis or Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis. Another, a brisk old man, whom Mr Dedalus called Johnny Cashman, had covered him with confusion by asking him to say which were prettier, the Dublin girls or the Cork girls.
ReplyDelete--He’s not that way built, said Mr Dedalus. Leave him alone. He’s a level-headed thinking boy who doesn’t bother his head about that kind of nonsense.
--Then he’s not his father’s son, said the little old man.
--I don’t know, I’m sure, said Mr Dedalus, smiling complacently.
--Your father, said the little old man to Stephen, was the boldest flirt in the City of Cork in his day. Do you know that?
Stephen looked down and studied the tiled floor of the bar into which they had drifted.”
(Joyce 68)
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I wanted to further examine this passage to find a connection between Stephen’s relationship with his father and the Icarus and Daedalus myth. The entire time they are in Cork, Mr. Dedalus vigorously tries to reconnect with the “glory days” when he was Stephen’s age. He drinks constantly and flirts with the barmaids, both of which make Stephen extremely uncomfortable and ashamed. Mr Dedalus’s friends encourage and participate in this behavior as well. Johnny Cashman, who is clearly very old, tells Stephen that he is twenty-seven, to which Mr Dedalus responds “We’re as old as we feel.” Mr Dedalus asserts his belief that he could easily beat Stephen at singing, vaulting, or running, but Johnny Cashman implies that Stephen is much smarter than his father. The Latin phrase that Stephen is asked about translates to “the times change, and we change with them.” None of the men in the bar have kept up with the times. They are unable to come to terms with the fact that they are now old men, and the glory days have passed. Stephen feels very alienated from these men. In the context of the Icarus and Daedalus myth, it would seem as though Stephen is failing his father by not following in his footsteps. Mr Dedalus was clearly very outgoing and popular as a teenager, unlike Stephen who is extremely passive and has difficulty relating to others. In this scenario, Stephen plays the role of a falling Icarus. On the other hand, it could be interpreted as though the roles have reversed. Mr Dedalus is losing touch with reality and seemingly becoming an alcoholic, so it could be said that he is the one falling and failing Stephen as a father.
"The fellows were talking together in little groups here and there on the playground. The fellows seemed to him to have grown smaller: that was because a sprinter had knocked him down the day before, a fellow out of second grammar. He had been thrown by the fellows machine lightly on the cinder path and his spectacles had been broken in three pieces and some of the git of the cinders had gone into his mouth. That was why the fellows seemed to him smaller and farther away and the goalposts so thin and so far and the soft grey sky so high up. But there was no play on the football grounds for cricket was coming: and some said that Barnes would be the prof and some said it would be Flowers. And all over the playground they were playing rounders and bowling twisters and lobs. And from here and from there came the sounds of the cricket bats through the soft grey air. They said: pick, pack, pock, puck: little drops of water in a fountain slowly falling in the brimming bowl." (Joyce 36)
ReplyDeleteThe idea of the fellows growing smaller is much like how things grow smaller when a person rises high above something, as if flying. Throughout this novel the legend of Daedalus and Icarus is woven in. By describing his surroundings as those of a person adrift high above, Joyce brings to mind Icarus’s flight. And almost too accurately, in the very next sentence Joyce brings about a fall that Stephen, the main character, experiences. And this certainly isn’t the first time such a thing has happened to poor Stephen, either. Previously in the story, Stephen took a fall, or rather was pushed, into a cesspool, after which he became very sick and very nearly died. Now he has fallen to the ground yet again, this time hit by a biker, which led to the smashing of his glasses. Now his sight is impaired, giving his vision the sensation of flying even after he has taken his fall. As if the fall only led to a new perspective, a new way to achieve. After all, it is this fall that broke his glasses that led to Stephen speaking to the rector about the unjust Father Dolan. Because he fell, he achieved something that he never would have expected to achieve. When the boys found out about Stephen’s victory, they bore him up into the air once more to celebrate, in a way reversing the story of Icarus, for in Stephen’s case, the fall came before the flight.
Water is another motif throughout the first section of this book and a very important element in Icarus’ myth. Twice in this section Stephen brings up the sound of the cricket bats: “pick, pack, pock, puck” and compares it to the sound of drops of water falling into a fountain basin. The first time Stephen fell, it was also into water, albeit very dirty water. the fall into the water made him ill, and we never see, so far, Stephen ever playing cricket, so we can see a pattern of water having an ill effect on Stephen, or otherwise him avoiding anything associated with water. This description of cricket also serves as a sort of way to section of a part of the first chapter. This passage, which comes at the beginning of his return to school after holiday break, contains the description, and it is also the last sentence in the chapter.
The quote that I choose was the opening of the book, the child like story that appeals to the reader. The start to any good book should be a hook or antidote of some sort, which is exactly what Joyce did here. When the reader open the book they see childish vocabulary, short sentence structure. These characteristics make the reader question what the book is about and how this relates to the book.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of this passage was to represent and capture young boy such as Stephen sees and perceives the world. Using childish language like "Moocow" and "Tuckoo" is an attempt to capture the essence of a child, how they speak, how they respond to certain words, and what they understand the best. Joyce jumps from thought to thought not letting any particular thought settle before moving on to the next thing. I believe that this is an attempt at recreating the way a child thinks, their thought process.
However as the story continues his writing style seems to get more and more mature, aging Stephen in away. This shift in the story is triggered when Stephen hears "his song" from that point on the vocabulary and the sentence structure gets more developed, detailed, and in depth with complete and full thoughts. Joyce creates this way of writing that shows Stephens age based on his thought process, which is consistent throughout the book as Stephen ages so does the text.
“Stephen watched the three glasses being raised from the counter as his father and his two cronies drank to the memory of their past. An abyss of fortune or of temperament sundered him from them. His mind seemed older than theirs: it shone coldly on their strifes and happiness and regrets like a moon upon a younger earth. No life or youth stirred in him as it had stirred in them. He had known neither the pleasure of companionship with others nor the vigour of rude male health nor filial piety. Nothing stirred within his soul but a cold and cruel and loveless lust. His childhood was dead or lost and with it his soul capable of simple joys and he was drifting amid life like the barren shell of the moon.
ReplyDeleteArt thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,
Wandering companionless...?
He repeated to himself the lines of Shelley's fragment. Its alternation of sad human ineffectiveness with vast inhuman cycles of activity chilled him, and he forgot his own human and ineffectual grieving.” (p. 86)
In this scene, Stephen contemplates how distant he feels from his father after witnessing his drunken behavior. Like most of the second chapter, this passage has tone mixed with shame and indifference. He attitude towards his father mimics his increasing feeling of isolation from those around, which has been shown throughout the second part of the novel. Stephen’s increasing isolation reflects both his growing individuality and his increasing sense of self, which also demonstrate his two greatest flaws: his isolation and his self-importance. Stephen tends to be disdainful of other people, as evidenced from him calling his father’s friends “cronies”. The reference to the older men drinking to the “memory of their past” hints that this nostalgic feeling of theirs is what is causing his disdain. This is affirmed later in the passage with the line “no life of youth stirred in him as it had stirred in them”. This bitterness stems from his rocky relationship with his father, as noted with his lack of “filial piety”. This also brings up the classical psychological idea of people developing abnormal social skills due to not being paid enough attention to as a child.
Unlike his father, who keeps trying to relive his past, Stephen is emotionally detached from his. From the passage, it can be reasoned that Stephen associates “simple joys” with childish tendencies, meaning those old at heart would not enjoy such things. As he referred to himself as being different from other children earlier in the novel, it means that Stephen is interested in more complex things, such as the “cold and cruel and loveless lust”. By comparing his “old soul” to the moon, Stephen it would seem like he is saying he is better than his father, but this not the case. The use of the words “drifting”, “barren”, “cold”, “loveless”, and “shell” reveal the negative aspects of Stephen’s “old soul”. This is also hinted at through his repetition of the poem about the "companionless" moon. Repetition is used by Stephen throughout the novel so far as a form of comfort, and is similar to how many comfort themselves by reciting prayers in times of emotional distress. Therefor, the repetition of the poem is a sign that Stephen is not comfortable with his lack of connection to those around him, which is detrimental to an artist.
Visit, we beseech thee, O Lord, this habitation and
ReplyDeletedrive away from it all the snares of the enemy. May
Thy holy angels dwell herein to preserve us in peace
and may Thy blessings be always upon us through
Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
His fingers trembled as he undressed himself in the dormitory.
He told his fingers to hurry up. He had to undress
and then kneel and say his own prayers and be in bed before
the gas was lowered so that he might not go to hell when he
died. He rolled his stockings off and put on his nightshirt
quickly and knelt trembling at his bedside and repeated his
prayers quickly, fearing that the gas would go down. He felt
his shoulders shaking as he murmured:
God bless my father and my mother and spare them to me!
God bless my little brothers and sisters and spare them to me!
God bless Dante and Uncle Charles and spare them to me!
He blessed himself and climbed quickly into bed and, tucking
the end of the nightshirt under his feet, curled himself
together under the cold white sheets, shaking and trembling.
But he would not go to hell when he died; and the shaking
would stop. A voice bade the boys in the dormitory good
night. He peered out for an instant over the coverlet and saw
the yellow curtains round and before his bed that shut him
off on all sides. The light was lowered quietly.
-Part One, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
This particular passage, by which we get the impression the college is a sombre, sad learning environment, shows Dedalus is only pious out of fear. The reason I describe the college as such is because from what I’ve read up to this point the place contains such bullies ranging from Nasty Roche to the near cancer causing Wells. His unquestioning faith in the damnation of those that fail to pray before the gas lamps die down shows his lack of interest and confusion in religion. Of course, this trait is common in younger children hence why there is much bullying and disorder at the school. Fear is also associated with guilt implying Dedalus has sinned somehow or another which would explain why in the following paragraph he is haunted by ghosts. Motifs apparent here are haste, which is self explanatory, and repetition. It is written “his memory knew the responses” in the last page about the prefect’s prayer. For our old chap religious practices are perfunctory and quite meaningless. Notice too he is terrified of hell but does not aspire to enter Paradise or whatever them Christians call it. Though admittedly i have begun to read Part three which explores these dynamics a bit further. The only part I am unsure of is why he includes his siblings in his prayer for they have no existential significance to the story, I think. I find it interesting that he blesses himself at the end.I did not realize that was part of the conventional nighttime prayers. As for the Icarus myth I suppose we can forcibly make an indirect comparison in the following way- In the book The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan, which is a modern rendition of the ancient myth, the Daedalus scene opens with him making the wings with great haste for fear of being discovered. So yeah they both have haste going on...
“They all laughed again. Stephen tried to laugh with them. He felt his whole body hot and confused in a moment. What was the right answer to the question? He had given two and still Wells laughed. But Wells must know the right answer for he was in the third of grammar. He tried to think of Wells’s mother but he did not dare to raise his eyes to Wells’s face. It was Wells who had shouldered him into the square ditch the day before because he would not swop the little snuffbox for Wells’s seasoned hacking chestnut, the conqueror of forty. It was a mean thing to do; all the fellows said it was. And how cold and slimy the water had been! And a fellow had once seen a big rat jump plump into the scum.” Pg 11
ReplyDeleteStephen, the main character in James Joyce's A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man, often has difficulty understanding social cues. What he lacks in communication affects his life as a whole, as he has trouble interacting with people. Stephen takes things too literally, as if there were a straight answer to every question. He also has a limited view on the world and this affects his naive nature.
Stephen is often picked on in school because of his often misunderstandings. For example, Stephen was asked if he kisses his mother good night by a group of boys around his age. He cannot find a right answer, which frustrated him. For every answer he gave he was laughed at. Stephen could not comprehend why they laughed when he gave all the possible answers. There is only a black and white area for Stephen, instead of a middle gray area as well. He only recognizes the obvious and specific answers, not what the bullies are trying to get out of him. He does not see that the bullies do not care for his answers, but are rather just looking for an easy target to pick on.
This passage also shows the indifference to Stephen's well being that the other boys have. They physically push him into a disgusting ditch, fully aware of the pain they were inflicting. They didn't care how much they hurt Stephen, they just wanted to feel a sense of dominance over a kid who they assumed to be weak. Stephen's social anxiety makes him a perfect victim for the bullies. And it's not just the bullies that take advantage of Stephen. Almost every encounter Stephen has in the book, so far, is extremely awkward. People respond to Stephen's poor social skills by either ignoring him or taking advantage of him. It all circles back to Stephen's inability to understand social cues from peers as well as adults. The above passage exemplifies Stephen's naive personality and how it affects his life overall.
“—I don't smoke, answered Stephen.
ReplyDelete—No, said Heron, Dedalus is a model youth. He doesn't smoke and he doesn’t go to bazaars and he doesn't flirt and he doesn't damn anything or damn all.
Stephen shook his head and smiled in his rival’s flushed and mobile face, beaked like a bird’s. He had often thought it strange that Vincent Heron had a bird’s face as well as a bird’s name…The rivals were school friends. They sat together in class, knelt together in the chapel, talked together after beads over their lunches. As the fellows in number one were undistinguished dullards Stephen and Heron had been during the year the virtual heads of the school. It was they who went up to the rector together to ask for a free day or to get a fellow off.”
(Joyce 76)
A Portrait of the Artist is a novel of a young man, Stephen Dedalus coming to age. The following quote is found in part one. In part one, Stephen is at the age of innocence, a state in which he is naïve child. It is evident that he is viewed as a conscientious person or as a “model youth.” Although, it is very ironic since later on in part two, Stephen begins to make some drastic changes that are no longer considered wise, such as sleeping with a prostitute. Nonetheless, it is also ironic in part one because Stephen is still not the person that Heron believes he is. In other words, Stephen feels alienated from everyone and he silently does “damn all,” especially since he dislikes Heron. Everything Stephen did, he felt as though he was unwanted. At school, he disliked his classmates and his classmates shared the mutual feeling. The relationship with his father worsened as well. At times, his father attempted to converse with him, though Stephen always avoided it. His father asked Stephen if he had ever smoked and he offered him a cigar. Stephen showed no interest. He has a problem opening up to people and trusting others. Thus, as a result he finds himself remorseful after sleeping with a prostitute. Yet, this shows his unwillingness to commitment since he did not wish to share his personal emotions with anyone. Stephen’s tone is mellow and blunt. He goes directly to the point when he speaks of his experiences. However, in part three this begins to change when he spiritually begins to ponder of his actions.
“But he was not sick there. He thought that he was sick in his heart if you could be sick in that place. Fleming was very decent to ask him. He wanted to cry. He leaned his elbows on the table and shut the opened the flaps of his ears. Then he heard the noise of the refectory every time he opened the flaps of his ears. It made a roar like a train at night. And why he closed the flaps the roar was shut off like a train going into a tunnel. That night at Dalkey the train had roared like that and then, when it went in to the tunnel, the roar stopped. He closed his eyes and the train went on, roaring and then stopping, roaring again, stopping. It was nice to hear it roar and stop and then road out of the runnel again and then stop.” (Section 1 Page 5)
ReplyDeleteThis quote can be found just a few pages into Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I chose this quote because I thought it showed the emotions Stephen was dealing with at the time, and how he chose to deal with them. Joyce uses specific diction when choosing how Stephen will word his sentences, and how undeveloped Stephen’s mind is. “He thought he was sick in his heart if you could be sick in that place.” Stephen’s emotions are coming through and he isn’t sure how to deal with them. He isn’t sure why his heart “feels sick” which in reality is a heart break. Cant eat, cant sleep, sick to your stomach, want to cry, heart break. Im sure he felt like he wanted to scream, the roar of the train, roaring and stopping. Building anxiety and making him feel miserable, like he wanted to die, but you don’t actually die. You would think feeling like that you would. You go on like the train, continuing to live. Going on, good days and bad days. Stopping and starting like the train. An obvious motif. In the passage above, that train is what appears to soothe Stephen’s mind and mend his troubles. Making him feel less broken and possibly more of a full heart. Stephen’s innocence also plays a part in how he deals with his emotions. He is at such a young age that he doesn't’t know any other way to cope with a “sick heart” that he lets noises almost soothe the pain away. Joyce’s tone starts off almost near depression when discussing the hurt that Stephen feels, but then transitions to a reluctant feel when he remember’s the noises of the train.
It was very big to think about everything and everywhere. Only God could do that. He tried to think what a big thought that must be; but he could only think of God. God was God's name just as his name was Stephen. Dieu was the French for God and that was God's name too; and when anyone prayed to God and said Dieu then God knew at once that it was a French person that was praying. But, though there were different names for God in all the different languages in the world and God understood what all the people who prayed said in their different languages, still God remained always the same God and God's real name was God
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
This quotation is significant because it captures Stevens ignorance when it comes to understanding the real world. Steven becomes overwhelmed when he thinks of life at a larger level. He has to remind himself of the facts, who he is, where he is, where that is.
He also struggles with his understanding of God. While no one truly understands religion or accepts it, Steven has a particularly difficult time. He knows that God is this big powerful entity but he still struggles with the most fundamental aspects of divinity. Most importantly he doesn’t understand God or his purpose. The purpose of religion is to explain life but Steven is either blind to or rejects these answers.
Steven also fails to understand how meaning is translated through languages. Despite an impressive knowledge of French, for his age, he does not understand the complexities of other cultures. He also shows a childish hubris in believing that Gods real name is God.
While Stevens understanding of the world is limited it worth noting that he is just a child and has time to learn. The problem is he doesn’t.
When Stephen came back to the school he was told about some boys who were kicked out of the school because they were caught "smugging". Stephen was confused about how these boys were gay even though they had big opportunities in front of them. And because they were caught and at the time it was considered wrong they were kicked out. Stephen goes on to describe some of the boys that were kicked out, and compares them to girls that have similar qualities. He doesn't talk about them in a condescending manner or like he is there better. He acted more confused in how these people that he knew could do that. This shows even though he doesn't understand their actions and he is ignorant about their actions he doesn't act with prejudice. It shows he can see the difference and similarity in personality and how gender doesn't matter to how he looks at people. This speaks about how he isn't prejudice or sexist person, and he is a more mature than the adults running the school. It also shows how he reacts to gossip because of when the two different boys told him two stories he looked at the people in question and think of which one who be the better answer. Now this is interesting because it doesn't show that he doesn't listen to gossip but rather listens to all of it and tries to find the truth that is in it.
ReplyDeletePAGE 24
ReplyDelete“He could hear the toiling. He said over to himself the song that Brigid had taught him.
Dingdong! The castle bell!
Farewell, my mother!
Bury me in the old churchyard
Beside my eldest brother.
My coffin shall be black,
Six angles at my back,
Two to sing and two to pray
And two to carry my soul away.
How beautiful and sad that was! How beautiful the words were where they said Bury me in the old churchyard! A tremor passed over his body. How sad and how beautiful! He wanted to cry quietly but not for himself: for the words, so beautiful and sad, like music. The bell! The bell! Farewell! O farewell!”
This passage lets the reader inside of Stephen’s mind and shows a different side to him. The rest of the book puts Stephen in a harsher light, but this passage highlights his softer side. The tone is shifted in this particular section. His response to the song above is as if he were about to die, which he feels like he is. Stephen is in a vulnerable state in the particular section in the book. My interpretation of this is that he is letting go of some of his restraints that have held him back from not expressing himself. Stephen’s character reminds me of Catcher in the Rye’s Holden. Both seem to be too tough on the outside, but when it comes down to it, they actually have a susceptible state.
Although it is just the beginning of the book, Stephen’s character and cover of being rough and independent shows through within the first few pages. He is sarcastic and a bit dramatic, which is clearly shown in this passage, “Farewell! O farewell!” But his dramatic tone might be because he is naïve and doesn’t fully understand how everything in the world works yet. He is young, and death is just a thought, not a reality. As he feels he is getting closer to actual death, his tone shifts and he becomes more panicked.
The repetition that Joyce uses in the last paragraph of this section is significant. It emphasizes exactly how Stephen is feeling and what his thoughts are. Sad and beautiful are used more than once in just this one paragraph. The two words are opposites and are two completely different ideas, but yet they still connect to each other and to Stephen’s mental state. The music playing in his head from the song is also a reflection of his thoughts as he waits sick, by himself. He repeats the line “Bury me in the old churchyard” because it was line that really seemed to stand out to him and made him think. If they were not important, then they would have not been repeated. In the last paragraph, he in a way, personifies the words, “He wanted to cry quietly but not for himself: for the words.” He interprets the lyrics and analyzes them to the point where he is sad for not himself, but for the song itself.
While I was reading chapter 2, there was a specific, and obscure moment towards the end of the section, which stood out to me. It is just after Stephen has finished the play, and is longing for another sort of adventure. He sees his father off, and hurries away. The description of the passage is metaphorical and shows a bit of character development. The descriptions of the way Stephen was feeling, was one of the strongest parts that stuck out to me. It was strange, which made it most interesting to me, because, simultaneously, it described the way Stephen was feeling, but in some way, it also depicted the setting. I feel as if, if those phrases weren’t there, I wouldn’t be able to imagine the setting. The words had nothing to do with describing a tangible place, and yet, the somehow, I could clearly imagine where Stephen was by those few sentences.
ReplyDeleteThe character development of this section is quite clear. Stephen is described to have all these certain feelings being crushed within him (pride, hope, desire) and then let out in a sort of imaginary vapour. At first, you wonder that doesn’t exactly show that he is growing, but further along in the section, it describes those feelings as negative emotions, (wounded, fallen, baffled). This means that it is like he is getting rid of those feelings. They were once inside of him, but they are now being released, and although it may be strange for him, to feel the certain weight lifted off of him, he could see clearly after he accepted them. The following lines suggest this: “They streamed upwards before his anguished eyes in dense and maddening fumes and passed away above him til at last the air was clear and cold again.”
Page 35 Part 1
ReplyDeleteThis section from part one displays what seems to be the ending of an argument. There was just a huge conflict and disagreement at the dinner table between stephens family. This argument over religion and politics was very heated and is now being cooled down by a story from Mr. Casey. He has claimed he has a humorous story to tell. When Stephen’s family member says “Let’s have the story, John.” The reader then expects to hear the story to the rest of the company. However this does not happen. Instead Joyce goes into detail about what is going on at the table and also in Stephen’s mind. Perhaps Joyce it attempting to prolong the chain of events to create a form of foreshadowing. I say this because Joyce likes to create tension in situations between people, so maybe putting off the story from Mr. Casey is a way to create more tensions between the family members around the table. Joyce used literary techniques such as the order of events, specific, descriptive language, and repetition to prolong the story and create this sense of tension for the reader.
The order of events in this section is not very specific. It is actually rather random. Stephens mind seems to jump around a lot during this scene. I believe that Joyce did this on purpose. He goes from describing Mr. Casey: “his dark eyes were never fierce” and then jumps right back onto the topic of religion again: “But he had heard his father say that she was a spoiled nun...” There is no transition. This occurrence throughout this section keeps the reader on edge and create a tension. It keeps the reader not only waiting for the story but also wondering if another argument about religion is going to spark up again. Along with the order of events, or lack thereof, is the descriptive language Joyce uses. “The dark waters, the light at the pierhead and the moan of sorrow..” The extra details added into what Stephen is remembering makes it easier to visualize and connect to what he is thinking. Although it all seems so random the descriptive language helps it all come together. Joyce also uses a bit or repetition in this part. He keeps having Stephen tie everything back to religion. After he describes Mr. Casey Stephen wonders about Mr. Casey’s religion. He also wonder then about Dante's place in the role of religion and so on and so forth. It seems as if Joyce is still trying to dwell on this topic. He made it so the reader thought it was over and keeps having Stephen refer back to it. Almost saying that religion is what gives a person their identity and mocking this idea.
(Kindle no page numbers)
ReplyDeleteThis passage from section one occurs right before Stephen goes home for Christmas, when he gets sick and is in the hospital wing of his school. Joyce creates a tone that is desperate and dramatic. Stephen does not know what he has and thinks he is going to die, but he ends up being completely fine. Stephen calls for his mother because he needs her because he is sick, but once again he was completely fine. James Joyce also tries to keep his reader at the same intellectual level as Stephen. Stephen does not know what he is sick with and if he will be okay and Joyce does not inform the reader either. It is never said what Stephen was sick with. Joyce also uses repetition to help show how affected Stephen is by his illness. He sings a song and then repeats the line “bury me in the old churchyard” like he actually believes that he is dying. Though Stephen is the only person in this scene Joyce brings in outside characters by including the letter to his mother and the song that someone else had taught him. After this scene there is an abrupt shift to Stephen being home. Joyce leaves his readers questioning what happened in the time between the scene with Stephen in the hospital and how he got home. Did his mother get the letter and come get him? Did he get better and just happened to be leaving soon to go home for Christmas? Joyce likes to let the reader make inferences throughout the book and confuse them by not letting them in on his secrets.