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  • Essay / Essay on the artist as a hero in a portrait of...

    The artist as a hero in a portrait of the artist as a young manA portrait of the artist as a young man by James Joyce is a story in part autobiographical of the author's life growing up. The novel chronicles the process by which the main character, Stephen, struggles against authority and religious doctrine to develop his own philosophy of life. Stephen is not necessarily rebelling against God and his father, but rather rebelling against himself, creating his own life. He is an artist, not because of the outcome of his life, but because of the process he follows to achieve that outcome. The artist is a hero because of the sacrifices he makes, the persecution he endures, and the risks he takes simply to set foot toward his vision. Joyce demonstrates that whether or not Stephen achieved his vision is insignificant to the journey itself. First, the novel ends not with the outcome of Stephen's life but with the first steps of his journey. “Old father, old craftsman, be me now and always in good stead,” he writes in the last sentence of the novel. Joyce intentionally ends the book before Stephen leaves, to emphasize that the process he goes through to reach this point where he can reject the very foundation on which his life rests is where the importance lies. The infamous hell scene spans twenty pages not to scare the reader but rather to show how difficult it is to become an artist and fight against conformity. Any breaking process is lost after the preacher's sermon on hell, as the following passage shows: He humbly beat his chest with his fist, in secret, under the shelter of the wooden armrest. He would become one with the others... middle of paper ...... and for his art, seeing that his religion is not good for his heart, he forges a new life and a new religion for his own, fulfilling. his destiny as an artist.Works citedBeebe, Maurice. “The artist as hero.” James Joyce, A portrait of the artist as a young man: text, review and notes. Ed. Chester G. Anderson. New York: Penguin, 1968. 340-57. Ellmann, Richard. “The Limits of Joyce’s Naturalism.” Sewanee Review 63 (1955): 567-75. Givens, Seon, ed. James Joyce: Two decades of criticism. New York: 1948. 2nd ed. 1963.Joyce, James. A portrait of the artist as a young man. The James Joyce laptop. Ed. Harry Levin. New York: Penguin, 1976.Power, Arthur. Conversations with James Joyce. Ed. Clive Hart. London: Millington, 1974. Wright, David G. Joyce's Characters. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1983.