The first novel of Irish author James Joyce is titled A Portrait of the
Artist As A Young Man. Stephen Dedalus describes his early years in a
voice that is not his own yet is sensitive to his sentiments, using
vocabulary that evolves as he does. Stephen is coming to grips with the
world, and the reader experiences his worries and confusion with him.
Word gets throughout Clongowes Wood College that some guys have been
caught "smuggling."When Stephen's father incurs debt, the family vacates
their comfortable suburban house and moves to Dublin. Stephen is aware
that he won't be going back to Clongowes.The boys in Stephen's class are
taken on a religious retreat while the author indulges in sensuous
pleasures. Stephen gives the passages on pride, guilt, retribution, and
the Four Last Things particular attention (death, judgment, Hell, and
Heaven).Both his mother and father criticize him for returning to the
Church. He concludes that Ireland's limitations prevent him from
expressing himself as an artist fully. He declares his links to his home
country before leaving for his self-imposed exile.