A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man

Saying this book was a little hard to read is like saying calculus is a little hard. At first, I was completely confused by how James Joyce writes. I think the best analogy would be a Jackson Pollock painting. Joyce throws words and punctuation onto the page in a seemingly random order, but there is also a method to his madness. His writing is a tumbled mix of well-turned phrases that ultimately come together to form a semi-coherent story. The book follows Stephen Dedalus, a young Irish boy at boarding school, as he grows up, contemplates the seminary, and eventually attends college. As with Dubliners, the book deals heavily with middle-class Irish life. Both books also deal with the life and death of Charles Parnell, a great Irish politician. In Dubliners, a group of low-level politicians memorialize the man. The scene in Portrait of the Artist is set shortly after Parnell dies, and takes the shape of an argument. Stephen's father and father's friend are arguing with another devoutly Catholic friend, accusing the Church of having abandoned and attacked Parnell in his time of need, contributing to Parnell's fall from grace and death. The friend defends the Church vociferously and calls them heretics for daring to speak against the Church. This was one of the most interesting and poignant scenes for me because it really painted a picture of what their life was like back then. The pervasive religion, ties to the British (Parnell advocated an independent Ireland), and how resigned they are to their current lives.