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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

by James Joyce

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Joyce's use of setting and color symbolism in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to communicate and enhance the themes

Summary:

James Joyce uses setting and color symbolism in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to enhance themes of identity, growth, and transformation. The changing settings reflect the protagonist's internal journey, while colors like green and maroon symbolize various emotional and spiritual states, contributing to the novel's exploration of personal and artistic development.

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How does Joyce use setting in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to communicate his themes?

 The overall setting of this novel is Dublin and its environs at the turn of the twentieth century. There are the various Daedalus family homes, which dwindle in size and grandeur as the family's fortunes decline, and the series of colleges that Stephen attends: first Clongowes Wood College, then Belvedere College, and finally University College in Dublin. Interspersed with this is a portrait of Blackrock, a Dublin suburb where Stephen spends his summer holidays, and also of Cork, which he visits once with his father.

All of these settings are crucial in illustrating Stephen’s developing consciousness as he passes from childhood to young manhood in the course of the novel. The  novel follows his growth not just as a man, but also his growth as an artist: his decision to reject early religious and family influences in order to develop his own course in life, finding meaning and solace in...

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aestheticism, the artist’s creed.  This is the central theme of the novel, to show the growth of theprotagonist to early maturity, and setting is intimately linked to this. The settings show various stages of Stephen's life and his state of mind at these times. This is emphasized by the narrative technique used, a kind of stream of consciousness (much more radically developed in Joyce’s later novels), where everything is rendered from Stephen’s perspective, although, until the very end, he does not tell his own story directly.  Therefore Clongowes is rendered to us as a series of childish impressions. The college is set in a old castle, which appears very impressive to the little boy as a romantic, gloomy old place, filled with ghosts and apparitions.  This college is also the scene of teasing from other boys, and chastisements from teachers, which are hard for a young boy to take, particularly a boy of sensitive temperament like Stephen.

The novel then moves on to the setting of Belvedere college. This is rendered through Stephen’s older voice, and it is a more cynical and dejected voice as well. He is still young enough, though, to be impressed, and terrified, by the priests’ preaching hellfire and damnation here. Finally he moves on to University College, a place of greater freedom and clarity. Now he starts discussing things with peers, formulating ideas about life and finally taking the momentous decision to leave Ireland altogether for Europe. This is highly symbolic; it means leaving behind all the cramping and stifling associations with Dublin, as Joyce himself did as a young man. But, like Joyce, although Stephen leaves Dublin he does not - cannot - really repudiate it.

To look at some more specific examples of setting and Stephen’s response (or lack of response, in some cases) to his surroundings, we see that, while in Cork he can hardly respond to his surroundings at all:

Nothing moved him or spoke to him from the real world unless he heard in it an echo of the infuriated cries within him. (chapter 2)

This is a particularly hard time for Stephen, his move into adolescence, coupled with the dwindling away of family fortunes. In consequence, as we see here, Stephen is completely immersed in his own moody thoughts and sense of alienation from the world. At other times  in his boyhood, though, he shows himself more receptive to outside scenes, for example when he first ventures into the heart of Dublin:

Dublin was a new and complex sensation .… He passed unchallenged among the docks and along the quays … The vastness and the strangeness of the life suggested to him by the bales of merchandise stocked along the walls or swung aloft out of the holds of steamers wakened … in him … unrest …(chapter 2)

 The city, the modern urban space, appears as a rather overwhelming, even frightening place - but also a place of absolute wonder, strangeness,  a sense of life in its myriad forms, which engenders a sense of excitement.  Also, we see Stephen's incessant lonely walks through the city, sometimes near the slums where later he seeks out prostitutes to satisfy his newly-awakened sexual desires.The red-light district, rendered through his heightened perspective, even comes across as awe-inspiring, the place of some grand, solemn ritual with the gas lamps burning like incense before 'an altar' (chapter 2).

Setting is also intimately linked to another type of experience for Stephen, a more joyous, indeed transcendent experience. On a bridge by the coast, he has an epiphany, a moment of intense joy, perception, and liberation, when taking his delight in the beauty of a girl wading in the water. This is the moment that he realizes that he wants to spend his life in pursuit of that kind of idealized and aesthetic beauty. 

On and on and on and on he strode, far out over the strands, singing wildly to the sea, crying to greet the advent of life that had cried to him. (chapter 4)

The settings in this novel, then, are vitally important to the story, used to mirror Stephen’s developing consciousness, his emotions and ideas as he grows up.

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How does Joyce use color symbolism in A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man to enhance the readers' understanding of the book's theme?

James Joyce's writing is influenced by his Irish roots and his understanding of the effects of poverty on a person's development. His literary purpose, he believes, was never to develop a moral ground or reveal historical or political information, but simply in the interests of expression and of being artistic. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce expounds on this theme as Stephen Dedalus, artistic and aware from an early age that he is different from his peers, struggles to find fulfillment. Green is a very prominent color all over Ireland and Joyce develops Stephen's character using this and other prominent colors to invoke various emotions. 

The "portrait" takes shape as Stephen changes from an inarticulate boy for whom simple words and phrases (and color) only allow him to define his surroundings in a confused manner, to a liberated young man who finally possesses the ability for rational thought through vivid color. It is interesting that the theme is abstract and relates to Stephen's personal journey of self rather than having any factual basis upon which it relies. The theme of God and religion is apparent but it is more about Stephen's consciousness of it and reaction to it, that forms this story.  

The "red rose" refers to the involvement of the English  who "won" in terms of Northern Ireland but Stephen usually relates red with other colors and prefers to consider colors in their capacity to relax and calm him. He recognizes white as a beautiful color for a rose but the thoughts of the school dining-room are unpleasant and so he associates the color with that feeling when he wonders whether " all white things were cold and damp." Stephen's confusion is obvious during these reflections, including his reference to the "wild rose blossoms on the little green place." Confusing the color of the rose seems random and unlikely, confounding his possible misunderstanding of situations. His pleasant thoughts of home are also associated with color as he affectionately remembers "red holly and green ivy round the old portraits on the walls." Green and red together always accompany pleasant thoughts and memories.

Stephen's interpretation of Fleming's choice of colors for the map in his desk - maroon and green- reveal Stephen's insular feelings as he sees the choices others make in terms of his own understanding, believing that Fleming has chosen those colors on purpose and therefore, Stephen attributes the same meaning as Dante to them. His attempts to denote politics in terms of color also reveals his simplified world but also his frustration because he knows that his understanding is over-simplified. He is beginning to see that there is so much more to life. Later, he will again associate maroon and green with Dante " in a maroon velvet dress with a green velvetmantle..." and the effect that Irish politics has on his family, such that, "He wondered which was right, to be for the green or for the maroon..."

The association of the wine with the color purple reminds Stephen of conflicting moments in his life. As Stephen uses color to help him interpret many situations, a reference to the "no colored eyes" of the priest recalls desperate moments for Stephen and expresses his sadness. The color yellow is used during moment of uncertainty, such as the yellow curtains and the yellow caravans and even the "yellow insolence." The “yellow drunk”  infers a lack of control whether over the situation or the person.

As Stephen matures, words take on more meaning as he can rationalize his thoughts through elegant speech. However when he suffers from extremes, words or colors no longer provide real clarity for him. Red. black and white are still dominant and even periods when there is a distinct lack of references to color , are significant as Stephen struggles to interpret his feelings or situation. Grey has been the color of certainty for Stephen – dull but also reassuring such as “the grey block of Trinity” and the bursar with his “cap of grey hair.”

The “rose” reference and the “roselike glow” create moments of calm in the turmoil that Stephen feels. “Scarlet” makes him “weary” and prevents any real passionate feelings and references to “dark” shades rather than colors confirm Stephen’s state of mind.

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