Analysis of the novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Set in
Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century, Joyces bildungsromanor coming-of-age novelcontains
autobiographical elements and is an early example of stream-of-consciousness
narrative.

Told entirely through its s thoughts as he ages,
is the story of Stephen Dedalus, a young man who struggles to free himself
from the constraints imposed by the society in which he and his impoverished Catholic family
live in order to devote his life to his writing. Like his mythical counterpart, young Stephen
desires to grow figurative wings that will enable him to transcend his mundane existence.
Through use of the stream-of-consciousness narrative and a satirical voice, Joyce underscores
the difficulty of this journey, the difference in perception between an artist versus a
non-artist, and how these viewpoints and impressions, especially when they come in direct
conflict with social and familial values and mores, have an alienating effect on the
artist.