Dec 25, 2009

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Sample Essay Outlines

Topic #1
Examine Stephen’s relationship to Catholicism as it develops throughout the novel. Use this as a way to comment on his attitude to authority more generally.

Outline
I. Thesis Statement: Stephen’s developing ethic of individualism requires him to reject the authority of the Catholic church. We can measure the progress of his artistic and individual development in part by an examination of the changes in his attitude to the priests in the novel.

II. When he was a child, the Jesuit priests at Clongowes represented absolute...