An Analysis Of The Writing Techniques In A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is recognized as the autobiography of JamesJoyce, describing the psychological and mental process of the extremely sensitive heroStephen who is in the state of moral and religious paralysis from childhood to youth inthe capital of Ireland, Dublin. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the masterpieceof Joyce with ten years’ efforts, and it marks the change of his writing style from realismto modernism. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce uses a variety of artistictechniques to show his individual charm as a great master in world literature. This papermainly carries on the analysis of creative art techniques from three aspects: symbolism,epiphany and stream of consciousness which are used to show the complicatedchangeable inner world of the people, to reveal Stephen’s growth mode, to reflect theconflicts and epiphany between the hero and various social forces, finally to reveal thesocial darkness, the state of paralysis and the historical significance of the imageStephen—a true hero who can challenge the dark society and religion, to make everyeffort to realize his self-value.This thesis consists of an introduction, the main body and a conclusion. Its maincontents are as follows:The first part is the introduction which points to the writing purpose, the briefintroduction to Joyce and the summary of previous domestic and foreign research of hisworks and the necessity of the study.The second part is the main body, and it is made up of three chapters:The first chapter concerns symbolism in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.This chapter is mainly divided into two aspects: the origin and development ofsymbolism and the expressions of symbolism in the text. The theoretical basis of thischapter is symbolism and the expression of imagery. Images are divided into four aspects:allusions, static images, dynamic images and female images, through the detailedanalysis of which we can deeply mine their potential symbolic meanings. It is essential asto reveal the corruption, paralysis and darkness of the society, the loneliness,sensitiveness and resistance of the people, and reflect the change of the hero fromchildish to mature.The second chapter points to epiphany in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. This chapter is divided into two aspects: the origin and development of Epiphanyand the expressions of Epiphany in the text. The theoretical basis of this chapter isEpiphany. Epiphany is a religious term, pointing to a sudden spiritual feeling. Thischapter excavates epiphany in three aspects: Stephen’s growth from childhood to youth,Stephen’s change from religious worshippers to violators and Stephen’s change fromfanatical religious followers to devotees of art and beauty. The hero Stephen experiencesconstant changes, in fact, this is the change of his soul, and it is a process of the herofrom childish to mature, revealing his hatred towards the then dark society and hisresistance against the oppressing religion, reflecting his process of pursuing freedom andhis finally becoming a devotee for art and beauty.The third chapter refers to stream of consciousness in A Portrait of the Artist as aYoung Man. This chapter is also discussed from two aspects: the origin and developmentof stream of consciousness, expressions of stream of consciousness in the text. Thetheoretical basis of this chapter is stream of consciousness. This chapter excavates streamof consciousness in three aspects: interior monologue, free association and montage. Thedescription of these aspects can directly show the jump and liquidity of the protagonist’sconsciousness activities, making it directly shown in front of us, to embody character’sinnermost feelings on multi-level and reflect the true inner activities of the charactersauthentically.The third part is conclusion, which makes a summary of the preceding analysis andpoints out the main theme of this thesis. It further analyses and summarizes theapplication and significance of the three techniques, finally revealing the social darkness,the state of paralysis and the historical significance of the hero Stephen. Though there arestill many imperfect spots in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in terms of itsnarrative skills, the experimental work opens a door for the development of novels andart of Ireland and modern western world. Its artistic achievement nourishes thesuccessors, readers and audiences all over the world, and its spiritual strength arousesmore people to find themselves, to pursue their own lives and their future seriously, tobreak through all chains, and strive to achieve their self-values.