Having read thus far in Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man I can definitely see why it has received such an amount of acclaim over the years. His use of language in the work is truly awe-inspiring and I have really enjoyed having the experience to read it. As was mentioned previously in class, it would definitely appear that Joyce’s focus was placed more on his manner of representation of his story, or his use of language, rather than the actual telling of a story. His story has proven to be fairly interesting, however, nevertheless.
The artistic representation of his life which he creates transcends a mere telling of events, going even further to relay the various steps of his thought processes throughout each experience, enabling the reader to gain an even fuller and more complete understanding of his character. This method he incorporates of providing each train of thought also aids the reader in making sense of his the different decisions he makes and the overall significance of many of the seemingly ordinary things that happen to him. Many would probably agree that not too many events have occurred up to this point in the novel which would typically receive too much attention in day-to-day life. The events that do occur, however, in their entirety do make for a great read, serving as a marvelous depiction of James’s character— with its portrayal of the numerous happenings which over time accrued to form its ultimate makeup.
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You've made quite some good points. It's almost apparent, once you've delved deeper into 'A Portrait' that the representation of his stories are through the processes of words, sounds, and writing. As I continued reading, I felt like Joyce was suggesting that he would eventually move further into this form of isolation. His writing offers the possibilities of what it means to be artistic because it symbolizes the fullest of opportunities in appreciating language. Though, like Joyce, the artist is an isolated figure, Joyce still envisions his writing as a voice that transcends such isolation.
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