James Joyce's The Portrait Of the Artist As a Young Man- conflict and themes

CONFLICT

Protagonist

Stephen Dedalus, a young boy who grows up with the predisposition to become a writer.

Antagonist

Ireland as Stephen sees it, and more generally, the constraints of social conventions.

Climax

Stephen is walking on the beach and sees a girl wading in the water. He feels joyous at the sight of her, connecting her image with his idea of himself as an artist who will render the earthly reality of experience into something life-giving and timeless.

Outcome

Stephen leaves Ireland to search for a way to live freely.

THEMES

Main Theme

The artist’s development in the life of a national language. Stephen experiences the many voices of Ireland as well as those of the canonical writers of his education. Out of all these voices emerges Stephen’s aesthetic theory and his desire to find his own manner of expression.

Minor Theme

The constraints of social conventions on the artist and his struggle to keep himself free of them.

MOOD

The mood of this novel is reflective. Most of the narration is of Stephen’s thoughts as he remembers significant conversations and events.