James Joyce was not a Marxist and does not explicitly endorse political perspectives in his writings. His aversion to political activism has generated criticism by progressive scholars, even those who admired his writing for its literary qualities or his personal courage in speaking out for individual freedom. Therefore, a reader will not locate specific endorsements of Marx's views but will find places where Joyce resonates with the ideas involved in those social critiques.

One area of the Portrait of the Artist that lends itself to Marxist interpretation involves organized religion and its relationship to the state. One might formulate a thesis connecting Stephen Daedalus's criticisms of the excessive and repressive power of the Catholic Church with Marx's negative view of the strong and undesirable association of church and state. Marx noted that the materialist bases of society had generated a human need for ways to alleviate their difficulties, and religion thus represented alienation.

A thesis might utilize Marx's assessment of religion as an "opiate" with Stephen's attempts to reduce his feelings of disconnection by freeing himself from religious restrictions.

I need help with a thesis statement tying the novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to Marxism.

A good thesis statement not only makes a claim about something but it also offers a line of reasoning or a brief rationale for that claim. A claim is a statement with which someone else might argue, and so you have to provide textual evidence in your body paragraphs which will support that claim.

One way in which this novel is influenced by Marxist ideas is in its treatment of religion. Karl Marx argued that religion is the opiate of the masses, and we see how, in Stephen Dedalus's world, strict Catholic doctrine seems to govern people's behavior and perception of their world rather than potentially developing an awareness of oppression or privilege (and then organizing a move against them).

When he compared organized religion to a drug, Marx suggested that religion was necessarily harmful because it clouds one's perceptions by reducing some aspects of their suffering; it presents them with dull fantasies, like opium does, that allow them to continue living their routine and unfulfilling lives, and it prevents them from questioning their realities (rendering it impossible that they would rebel). Stephen is essentially compelled to choose between an austere life in the church—giving up things that are beautiful—or a life as an artist, someone who can see the true effects of the church on the Irish citizens who continue to endure financial, political, and social oppression from various groups again and again.

It is another tenet of Marxist thinkers that art is a cultural institution that has the potential to unite people from different social statuses and eventually lead to a society without class distinctions. Stephen eventually does decide to abandon thoughts about a life in the church and embrace the role of an artist, even determining to leave Ireland—as a place where the class structure was so embedded.

Therefore, I think you could certainly argue that this novel is influenced by Marxist ideas regarding both religion and art, as evidenced by Stephen Dedalus's decision to embrace beauty and art and reject religion and class traditions.