Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Chapter 12--Is that a Symbol?
Using the criteria discussed in this chapter, identify a symbol used in the novel. Explain how the symbol is used and what it represents. Do not use a symbol that has already been discussed on this thread unless you are offering comments that are original. In your post, be sure to include specific quotes from the text, with page numbers, to support your conclusions.
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A symbol evident in Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is the repitition and meaning behind E-- C--/Emma. Stephen first describes their encounter saying that she wants him to "catch hold of her...and kiss her" (48). However, he did neither of these two things to her and remained quiet. This female who he believed he had a "connection" with then encouraged him to write poems for her. Within these poems, he changed the details of what had happened due to his imagination taking over. This hint of Emma begins Joyce's symbol of her being true love uncontaminated by sex and sin. During his play, he is enraged to discover that Emma is not in the audience, he is enraged which causes him to search for a woman just to sin with unlike the woman Mercedes from "The Count of Monte Cristo." After his dramatic change from sinner to one who devotes their life to religion, he then finds a middle road which leads to his appreciation of beauty. Joyce utilizes the bits and pieces of E-- C-- to illustrate his change in appreciaiton and his search for true beauty.
ReplyDeleteJoyce, in his “Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man,” follows previous myths when manipulating the cows in his novel to symbolize fertility. The novel opens with protagonist Stephen explaining a story his father used to tell him about a cow. Within the story, his father sings “O, the wild rose blossoms/ on the little green place” (Joyce 5). Symbolizing growth, the song aligns with Celtic mythology, which portrays cattle as vital to society because they provide a source of food. According to legend, “the prosperity of the clan is reflected in the prosperity of its herds” (Nooden). Later in the novel, Joyce uses the symbolism to describe Stephen’s attachment to his home. Normally, “when autumn came… the cattle which had seemed so beautiful in the country on sunny days revolted him and he could not even look at the milk they yielded” (Joyce 55). Because he has to return to school in the fall, he undergoes a decrease in vitality because of his extreme attachment to his home, paralleling the decline of his view of the cows. This year, however, he knows he does not have to return to school so “he felt no repugnance at seeing the cow hairs and hayseeds on the milkman’s coat” (Joyce 55). As Stephen associates the cows with his home, they come to not only symbolize fertility as shown in Celtic mythology, but also growth for Stephen himself. When he is away from the cows and is at school, he does not feel the growth and vitality he feels when at home. Thus, Joyce succeeds not only in adhering to the myths but also creating his own spin on the symbolism.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
Nooden, Lars. Animal Symbolism in Celtic Mythology. University of Michigan. 22 November 1992. Web. 10 August 2011. < http://www-personal.umich.edu/~lars/rel375.html>.
Chapter 12 – Is That a Symbol?
ReplyDeleteJames Joyce employs many symbols in "A Portrait of the Artist as Young Man", but the symbols most evident are the colors red and green. Throughout the novel Joyce mentions red and green by designating these colors to different objects and figures. At the novel’s beginning, the two brushes Dante carries each have velvet backing, one red and the other green. As Joyce writes, “The brush with the maroon velvet back was for Michael Davitt and the brush with the green velvet back was for Parnell” (5). Davitt and Parnell are both Irish politicians who create debate and major conflicts within the novels setting. Later, Stephen witnesses Dante peel the green velvet back off the brush and say, “Parnell was a bad man” (14). Another instance Joyce mentions red and green is when he writes about the math competition between the white rose and the red rose teams. After the red rose wins, Stephen considers the color of roses and how white, red, pink, cream, and lavender roses are “beautiful to think of” (10). Then he wonders about wild roses and how they could be different, beautiful colors, but not green, “you could not have a green rose” (10). Again, the conflict between red and green is apparent as Stephen contemplates whether or not green roses can exist with red and white roses. An additional occasion Joyce illustrates politics and the colors is during Christmas dinner. The Christmas colors, red and green, are present all around the house including the dinner table. During the discussion about politics and religion at the table, Dante and Mr. Casey begin and argument about their conflicting views of God, which ends when Dante calls Mr. Casey the “Devil out of hell” (34) just before she slams the door. Overall, red and green symbolize conflict which fits considering, through an artistic view, they are complementary colors on the color wheel.
Works Cited:
Joyce, James, John Paul. Riquelme, Hans Walter Gabler, and Walter Hettche. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007. 5-34. Print.
One of the most present symbols in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, is the water. Water is present from the first chapters until the last chapters. The water coincides with the purity of Stephen’s soul. For instance, at Clongowes, Stephen is shouldered into a “square ditch”(12), by Wells and the water was “cold and slimy”(12). This corresponds with Stephen’s soul due to the fact that at that time he had no beliefs and also was not open to many new people, so he was a cold person who had no beliefs to stand back on. When he moves into Dublin the water imagery comes back into play because one of the first things young Stephen spots is how Dublin harbor has a multitude of corks that lay bobbing on the surface of the water in a thick yellow scum(58). This is a foreshadowing of his soul in Dublin because the City results in him committing many sins. Thus the yellow scum is his soul, derived from the fact that he engages in morally wrong activities such as the use of prostitutes. The corks are present because they symbolize alcohol which in Joyce’s eyes is the root of the problem. Thus water is a symbol present throughout the book, and it reflects Stephen’s soul at that given moment.
ReplyDeleteFire, one of the symbols in James Joyce's novel, represents the intensity of emotions. For example, during the Christmas meal in Part 2, the family begins with a beautiful Christmas celebration, only to end in arguments about religion. Mr. Casey's words, all of which are against God, cause Stephen to "feel the glow rise to his cheek as the spoken words thrilled him" (Joyce 33). Here, the fire in Stephen's cheeks represent how the strong religious opinions of the family members are taking a toll on what Stephen is being led to believe. To an extent, the fire that Stephen felt with the words of Mr. Casey foreshadows his later actions to not believe in religion anymore. Then, when Stephen goes and stands in the sea, his "cheeks were aflame; his body was aglow" from the stare of a girl standing before him (Joyce 150). Instead of an actual fire, it is Stephen who is a metaphorical fire, flaming with passion, desire, and freedom. The fire Stephen feels here is the calling of freedom that he begins to search for. Overall, the fire symbolizes Stephen's feelings for a belief and inspires him to find ultimate happiness.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading HTRLLAP, one thing that really stuck to me was when Foster says, “one mention of birds or flight is an occurrence, two may be a coincidence, but three constitutes a definite trend.” Now, this post isn’t going to be about birds or flight, but I’m almost positive this also applies to other patterns. So as I was reading Portrait, I started picking up a motif of death, and more specifically skulls. At the end of chapter one, Stephen not only notices the skull on the desk of the Rector but also draws attention to it once more before leaving. On page 95, when Stephen is in the chapel, one of the first things he notices about Father Arnall is that his “pale face was drawn” (Joyce 95). Later on, Stephen is describing the director of Belvedere and emphasizes the “deeply grooved temples and the curves of his skull” (Joyce 134). Father Arnall also gives a lecture on death. I believe that all this repetition is indicating the similarities between all the religious men. And I think that relating all these men to death shows the “lifeless” personality of men that Stephen ultimately associates with priesthood. (Disclaimer: I’m not sure if I just totally noticed this and it’s not true. So if I’m making something out of nothing anyone can correct me. )
ReplyDeleteThroughout James Joyce’s “A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man” one motif that shows up very frequently is the motif of music. Music is throughout the novel and any scene with importance to Stephen’s life. The opening scene of the work is the first example. The song shows the family ties and family closeness. Stephen’s mother “plays on the piano the sailor’s hornpipe for him [Stephen’s father] to dance” (Joyce,1). Stephen’s mother and father use music to bring the family close together and provide the family structure needed for good moral growth and character. Stephen’s childhood influences how his actions affect him and he responds to his actions with either guilt or satisfaction. Another time where music plays an important part in Stephen’s life is when he is deciding whether or not he wants to become a priest. After leaving the director’s office Stephen is undecided about his decision. Stephen thinks about his life as a priest and then thinks about how people in the vocation “sing for hours, melody after melody, glee after glee” (Joyce, 143). Thinking about this he begins to realize the priesthood is not for him. Music comes into play at many other points throughout the novel but music plays the most important role in Stephen’s early childhood and the decision of what he is going to do with the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteIn A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus is attempting to discover himself and take “flight”, like a bird. Birds are very symbolic in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Birds represent Stephen’s desire to venture outside of Ireland and explore the world as an artist. In Chapter 5, Stephen notices birds flying above him. He questions and analyzes what exactly they’re doing and where they are going. “He watched their flight: bird after bird: a dark flash, a swerve, a flash again, a dart aside, a curve, a flutter of wings… What birds were they?” (197-198) By watching these birds, Stephen truly discovers that he wants to leave and move on with his life. “Then he was to go away? For they were birds ever going and coming, building ever an unlasting home under the eaves of men’s house and ever leaving the homes they had built to wander.” (198) Following this realization, Stephen formally presents his decision to Cranly. “Away then: it is time to go. A voice spoke softly to Stephen’s heart, bidding him to go and telling him that his friendship was coming to an end. Yes: he would go. He could not strive against another. He knew his part.” (216) Stephen is finally ready to take “flight” and flee Ireland, becoming the artist he wanted to be.
ReplyDeleteIronically, in Joyce’s novel his character Stephen displays a special interest and preoccupation with two very different types of women. In chapter three, Stephen cannot seem to get his mind off of his lustful encounters with prostitutes, and on the complete opposite side of the spectrum he has a strange fascination with the Virgin Mary. To Stephen, “the glories of Mary held his soul captive” (91) and just as “music came nearer” (90) when he thought of the prostitutes, Stephen’s mind associates music with Mary as well. Now is this symbolic, or a strange coincidence? I like to believe Joyce had it planned all along, I mean the man was a genius. Joyce juxtaposes Stephen’s sinful acts with the Virgin Mary purposefully, and the association with music can be viewed as a symbolic alarm to Stephen. As Stephen reflects upon his relationship with the Virgin Mary, he begins to realize his sinful behavior. He feels scorn towards his behavior as he realizes “her names were murmured softly by lips whereon there still lingered foul and shameful words, the savour itself of a lewd kiss” (92), and the music enlightens his wrongdoings leading him towards a more morally right path in the eyes of the Virgin Mary and his church.
ReplyDeleteSymbols are prominent in literature. In his novel “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” James Joyce utilizes the reference of skulls and death masks to hint off at the death of religion in Stephen’s life. The first mention of a skull is in the rector’s room on the desk. (Joyce 49) Ironically, as this book depicts Catholic religion, which is suppose to give a hope to life, skulls appear very near the heart of religion, where he was to find solace. Death and skulls is again mentioned when Stephen describes his friend Cranly in his diary. On the March 21 entry, he describes that he has always seen a “stern severed head or deathmask” (Joyce 219) upon Cranly’s face. Such description of Cranly’s face shows the decay of Stephen’s faith as it inquires a change in the Christ like figure in his life. While he previously described Cranly’s face as priest like, he now sees it as death, a lifeless skull, indicating the disappearance of faith in the entire package of God. Since the beginning the skull in the rector’s room had symbolized a darker part of religion. Skulls, coming from the dead, indicate death and decay, which is what happens to Stephen’s faith as he finds his way as an artist.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the events of Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen continuously notices the hands of himself and others, and Joyce seems to specifically describe them in a work that has relatively little prose. However, the reader cannot explore the purpose of this repetition until Stephen compares a protestant girl's "long white hands" (Joyce 31) to the “Tower of Ivory” (31), an epithet for the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary according to Catholicism obviously stands as a sacred icon, as she bore Jesus Christ without the taint of sin. Thus, for Stephen to compare a girl to Mary reveals his early sinful mindset beginning to emerge. The continued fixation on hands and fingers seems to resonate back with this association with sin, rather than the clichéd literary use of hands as symbols of piousness and archetypal Christ figures, as Joyce also seems to insinuate hands represent human sexuality, a subject of taboo in the Catholic Church especially in Joyce’s time. Thus rather than explicitly state controversial topics, Joyce submerges them within his text in the form of symbolism.
ReplyDeleteWithout a doubt, James Joyce’s, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man features numerous symbols and motifs, but personally I believe religion is overwhelmingly important, specifically in regards to pray for Stephen’s sake. For example, readers can often tell Stephen's state of mind by looking at the fragments of prayers and Latin phrases that Joyce inserts into the text, which greatly enhance the meaning between the lines Thomas Foster mentions in the first few pages of his novel, How to Read Literature Like a Professor. More specifically, when Stephen is a schoolboy, Joyce includes childish, sincere prayers that mirror the manner in which a child might devoutly believe in the church, even without understanding the meaning of its religious doctrine. Additionally, when Stephen prays in church despite the fact he has committed a mortal sin, Joyce transcribes a long passage of the Latin prayer, but it is clear Stephen merely speaks the words without believing them. Furthermore, the following quote from the novel exemplifies the significance of Stephen moral behavior. “His sins trickled from his lips, one by one, trickled in shameful drops from his soul festering and oozing like a sore, a squalid stream of vice. The last sins oozed forth, sluggish, filthy.” Truly, this specific paradox reflects the Irish culture Stephen continuously fails to relate to and desires to abandon.
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