Verbal Processes And Growing Experiences:A Transitivity Analysis Of Stephen’s Utterances In Joyce’s A Portrait

Irish writer and poet,James Joyce(1882--1941)is one of the most famous novelists and founders of the post-modernism literature.His literary works and the stream of consciousness have made a great effect on worldwide literary field.Among his four novels,i.e.Ulysess,etc.A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man(A Portrait hereafter),as the first novel,can be regraded as his own semi-autobiographical novel.And A Portrait is the transition of Joyce from realism to modernism and also from the spirit epiphany to the stream of consciousness.From this point,it is obvious to find the novel’s influence and literary value.Many scholars at home and abroad have made different researches of A Portrait,however,there is still room for a further exploration.A Portrait is composed of five chapters and Stephen’s twenty-two diaries,which mainly consists of Stephen’s three growing stages.Three growing stages are linked with Stephen’s three psychological development,and abundant verbal processes have shaped his growing experience from childish position to mature position.However,although some scholars at home and abroad have noticed it,nobody has made a relating systematic research and analysis about this.Therefore,this thesis is based on Halliday’s transitivity system to analyze what are those typical features of verb processes in Stephen’s three periods of mental development and how do those verb processes contribute to the motifs or themes of the novel,hoping to provide a new perspective of readingIn Stephen’s first stage,the verb form of material counts most importantly.In these material process clauses,Stephen’s parents,classmates and priest,etc.play the Actor role,however,Stephen is the Goal.For example,when he is at home,he doeswhat his family told him.When he is at school,he is also affected by the environment.Being pulled into the puddle by classmate and being punished by Father Dolan unjustly have shown that he is a passive receiver in his childhood.In Stephen’s second stage,the verb form of mental process takes up greatly.Stephen has awaken his sexual awareness with prostitutes,rejected his parents’ expectation to be a religious believer and finally arisen the epiphany of nature and beauty when he met a seabird-like girl at the seaside.The whole period is complex,during this period,Stephen has strengthened his mental feelings from many times and gradually shaped his personality.In his third stage,the verb form of mental process and verbal process counts most importantly.Stephen has thought about art deeply and influence by Aquinas’ aesthetic theory.He thinks about art,truth and beauty,etc.Citing for Greek and Latin languages,he talks about aesthetic art with companions.His mature inner world and personality as a young artist have gradually been reflected perfectly.Through the research,it is helpful to recognize Stephen’s mental changing through the transitivity system analysis.And we can apprehend and appreciate the novel’s language art and language value better.Meanwhile,the functional stylistic analysis can not only elucidate the general texts,but also interpret other texts.