TERM PAPER IDEAS / BOOK REPORT / ESSAY TOPICS

• THEMES

1. What does the pandying episode contribute to Stephen's view of life? Of priests?

2. Why is Stephen critical of Ireland? Why does he choose to live in continental Europe?

Explain the meaning of Stephen's choice of "the misrule and confusion of his father's house" over the orderly life of a priest.

3. Discuss the relationship between the pagan myth of Daedalus and the Christian version of the fall of both Adam and Lucifer.

4. How do the commands to "apologise," "confess," and "admit," work throughout Portrait of the Artist to express different kinds of conformity?

• CHARACTERS

1. What is Heron's role in Stephen's life?

2. Are Stephen's growing pains different from the usual ones of adolescence? If so, how do they differ?

3. What kind of man is Simon Dedalus, and why does Stephen feel alienated from him?

4. Discuss Portrait of the Artist as a negative portrait of Stephen.

• LITERARY TOPICS

1. What did Joyce admire about Henrik Ibsen? How does Portrait of the Artist reflect Ibsen's influence?

2. Compare Portrait of the Artist with either Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage or with D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers.

3. Discuss Joyce's attitude toward W. B. Yeats and the Irish literary revival movement as reflected in Portrait of the Artist.

• LITERARY TECHNIQUE

1. How does the style of Portrait of the Artist change during the stages of Stephen's growing up?

2. Discuss Joyce's use of language to break down the traditional barriers among the five senses.

3. How does Joyce adapt his style to his subject matter in contrasting Stephen's view of reality with his romantic dreams?

4. How is the image of water and wetness used to reveal aspects of Stephen's character?

5. What does the structure of Portrait of the Artist have in common with the classical drama of ancient Greece or with the typical nineteenth-century symphony?

6. Discuss the way Joyce uses the rose as a motif.

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