A Hard Journey Toward Self-Identification

In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus is depicted as a boy who possesses all the potential traits necessary to become an artist, like sensitivity, priggishness and narcissism, etc. In addition, the milieu surrounding him, which consists of religion, family and nation, also plays a rather significant role in shaping his character and thereby should be taken as a key motive for his self-imposed exile. In the eyes of Stephen, religion, family and nation are but synonyms for three nets that largely suppress his true nature.Based on this consideration, the paper makes a study of how each element disillusions Stephen and forces him to find an outlet for real freedom. Besides, considering the fact that by the end of the novel, when Stephen makes up his mind to leave Dublin in pursuit of a life that belongs to a real artist, he is just in his early adulthood and a change of mind is still likely to happen one day, the paper also explores what it means to Stephen by selecting a road that is rarely taken by his contemporaries. By doing so, the paper tries to suggest that the end of the novel can hardly be the final destiny of Stephen and his choice of fleeing Ireland remains to be tested by time.