Autobiographical Peculiarities in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Abstract

This paper traces the autobiographical elements in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) is rich with literary techniques. Joyce experiments with the structure of the kunstleroman (the novel of or about the artist), conveying the narrative through the perspective of the growing artist, literally from infancy to adulthood. His syntactical and grammatical style maps both the development of the mind and abilities of the young artist, beginning with the fragmented and simple style and associative logic of a child, and moving to the complex logic and subtle perception of a sensitive and artistic young man. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the autobiographical structure of the novel. Thus, the very structure of Joyce’s novel is noteworthy: He portrays Stephen’s growth to manhood through key episodes of his youth. In part, in order to cover so much of his youth, Joyce tells Stephen’s story in episodes, focusing on the most formative events or moments in Stephen’s life. Thus, these textual insights will be revealed as the autobiographical aspects of the novel.