A
Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce focuses primarily on
Stephen as he starts finding all the different shades of grey in his previously
black-and-white life. This theme manifests in his actions, political views, and
religion, to name a few examples. Personally, I find Stephen’s development in
his relationships and social ability to be one of the most interesting parts of
the book so far.
When we first meet Stephen at
Clonglowes he is clearly very socially inept. He views other people as black
and white, either being “mean” or “nice”. For example, Stephen frankly comments
on multiple occasions that it was “not nice” of Wells to have pushed him into
the sewage pile. He holds no contempt or anger and is simply aware of the
meanness of the act. In addition, later Wells asks Stephen whether or not he
kisses his mother before bedtime. Stephen says he does, and then he doesn’t,
and finds both answers to be the wrong answer when the boys laugh and jeer each
time. He finds himself very confused, unable to find the right answer if both
the answers he gave were wrong. Again showing his black and white view of the
world, Stephen cannot comprehend the idea that there are more complexities
behind a simple yes or no question and his lack of understanding troubles him.
Sections later, when Stephen is at
his new school, we see a severe development in his understanding of the shades
of grey in people and social encounters. Stephen actually has friends at his
new school. At Clonglowes the best he could hope for was being a part of the
crowd. Whereas younger Stephen was very literal and serious, we see older
Stephen actually joking around with his friends, showing that he has learned
the shades of grey we know as sarcasm and humor. In addition, it seems Stephen
doesn’t actually like his friends that much. Here we can see how he has learned
to manipulate people into thinking he likes them in order to gain companionship,
a skill he did not have at Clonglowes. Finally, Stephen now understands what to
say and what not to say. In arguing about poetry, Stephen instantly recognizes
his mistake when he says that Byron is the best poet. Contrast this
understanding with younger Stephen’s fixation on the simplicity of the right
answer and lack of comprehension of what lies between the lines. Younger
Stephen would not have been able to understand why he shouldn’t just be honest
and contribute his commentary to the conversation.
Overall, I can see Stephen’s coming
of age most clearly in his development socially and increasing awareness of the
complexities of people. I can also relate to his journey as I went from a young
and awkward, far-too-quiet homeschooler to a high schooler who is fascinated by
other people and social encounters and likes to say she understands both pretty
well. I am very intrigued and interested in seeing how Stephen’s social
aptitude develops as the book continues.
