Change of Stephen Dedalus as shown in five chapters

James Joyce is one of the most important figures of modernist literature. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is one of his important works. This novel actually shows the growth of Stephen Dedalus as an artist.

When the novel opens, we are in the mind of a child; fragmented lines from a nursery story are intertwined with sensations and associations of feeling, touching, hearing, and smelling. 

The author then switches to Clongowes Wood College where Stephen studied. Stephen was small and weak, and suffered from poor vision and painful homesickness. Stephen did not like the school. He never complaint to his teachers about his classmates and he had a very strong sense of right and wrong. When Father Dolan, the Prefect of Clongowes, punished him for no reason, he complained to Father Conmee. For the first time, Stephen was introduced to the idea of conflict between nationalism and Catholicism. During Christmas, Stephen was allowed to sit with adults in the dinner table where he heard an argument between Mr. John Casey and Simon Dedalus, Stephen’s father, and Dante, their governess over the Church condemning Charles Parnell, an Irish Nationalist, for his marital infidelity.

The second chapter deals with the Dedalus’ changing fortune and how Stephen adopted himself and formation of his own ideas. The chapter opens up describing Stephen spending summer in Blackrock, Dublin with his family. His father did not send him to Clongowes for his financial difficulty. However, Stephen did not feel sad. He rather enjoyed his summer. In this chapter, we see Stephen’s imagination and restlessness. He enjoys reading The Count Of Monte Cristo and thinks of adventure. The family then moves to Dublin where Stephen discovers a new world. He sees things in his own way. We also see a Stephen growing up and forming his thoughts about the world, about literature about everything. His rebel nature becomes visible in this chapter when he defends Byron and gets beaten for it.

Chapter three and four mainly shows Stephen’s inner conflicts and accepting himself with all his sins and failures. He finds religion meaningless and considers church going people hypocrites. He likes food, sex and wandering around. He starts visiting prostitutes. Although he is known as a good student and performs religious rituals in his school but he does not believe in them. He thinks about sex most of the time. If he is not thinking about sex, he works in complex religious matter. Life takes an unexpected turn when he hears the fiery sermons of Father Arnall. He becomes very afraid and starts to perform various religious rituals seriously. Seeing his dedication, the college director approaches him if he is interested to become a Jesuit. This brings back the memories of Clongowes. He understands that the life of a Jesuit would not suit him. He accepts his life the way it is and finds immense joy in it.

The final chapter we see Stephen going to University and talking with people from different social background. University has provided crucial intellectual material for Stephen's growth. His aesthetic theory, very sophisticated for a college student, is deeply indebted to Aristotle and Aquinas. Stephen gradually understands that the Irish establishment is the main impediment on his path to creativity. So, he finally decides to leave Ireland.