Journal

One thing that struck me while reading, and that we briefly touched upon in class, was the journal format of the very end of the novel. This shift intrigued me, and I spent some time trying to figure out why Joyce decided to make this rhetorical change in the narration of the novel. I think it places emphasis on the idea of individualism, and the search for identity that Stephen displays through the novel. Perhaps it can be seen as Stephen's maturation, no longer a stream of consciousness search for identity but a more structured, controlled manifestation. The journal method could also be a parallel for his growth in age, as at the beginning of the novel we have a more childlike unfocused, sporadic literary technique. The shift to the journal is thus more adult: Stephen is purposefully penning these things, rather than simply shifting from one idea to the next as his mind shifts.