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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is Joyce’s autobiographical novel based on the first twenty years of his life， set in Dublin in the late 19th century. Dedalus rebels against what he sees as the pervasive repressive influence of the Roman Catholic Church and the attitudes of his family and of Ireland itself. He leaves Ireland for France in order to fulfill the artistic promise inherent in his name. Instead of following “chronological continuity” order， the whole novel progresses with the flow of the mind of Stephen Dedalus， the protagonist， Joyce’s alter ego. Tracing Stephen Dedalus’s spiritual growth from his infancy to his early manhood：how he breaks through all the nets flung on him， alienating himself from his family， society and the church and eventually acquiring the unfettered freedom in art his life’s purpose， one can take the maturation of the hero as an odyssey of becoming， according to Julien Benda’s definition， the “real intellectual”. One who dares to speak out the truth， nonco-opted， ceaselessly pursue intellectual freedom. Needless to say， the process of Stephen’s physical， metal maturity is accordance with his intellectual maturity.
Stephen Dedalus is named after the Greek mythological character， a renowned craftsman and inventor， who devised a Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete but had himself imprisoned instead. In escaping from his own architectural masterpiece， Dedalus created wings of wax and feathers for himself and his son Icarus. By employing Dedalus as his protagonist’s surname， Joyce tends to express what he writes on the aphorism before the novel “Et ignotas animum dimittit in artes”， meaning in English “And he sets his mind to work upon unknown arts and chages the law of nature”. The motto can be interpreted as James Joyce’s artistic declaration， of which he gained from breaking with the ties and restraints from his family， his church and country.
Stephen Dedalus is a “real intellectual” and how he represents it from the aspects of his thinking mind， his non-conformism and his final choice of self-imposed exile.
Stephen Dedalus：A Thinking Mind
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel centers on a thinking mind， his consciousness and sub-consciousness. Following the stream-of-consciousness of Stephen Dedalus， the chronological sequence of a series of happenings seems not that important. It depicts in depth Stephen’s moments of triumph and spiritual elevation being consistently followed by episodes of deflation. In those ups and downs， Stephen thinks and reflects on in depth everything around him anywhere and everywhere， increasingly reaching his intellectual maturity. If thinking is the preliminary of a latter gained critical spirit， consciously or unconsciously， becoming a critical intellectual is Stephen’s fate. Stephen Dedalus：An Unco-opted Intellectual
As intellectuals own wilder， and at the same time， more specified knowledge in specific field， to govern a nation or lead a corporate， authorities need to co-opt those who serve for and be loyal to them. Stephen renounced the religious vocation and go to university pursuing， remaining outside the mainstream， unaccommodated， uncoopted， and resistant. The decision to turn from a religious vocation makes him realize that he is now free—free to pursue the pleasures of life through art. By rejecting director’s offering， Stephen chose the loneliness， to stay away from the mainstream but remain true to his own heart.
An Intellectual’s Decision of Self-imposed Exile
Exile brings a feeling of being abandoned， loneliness and helplessness. It is the last thing an individual would like to be put into. “Exile is one of the saddest fates ... it not only meant years of aimless wandering away from family and familiar places， but also meant being a sort of permanent out cast， someone who never felt at home and always at odds with the environment， inconsolable about the past， bitter about the present and the future”（47）. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man， by resisting all collective relationship and isolating himself from family， school， religion and nation， Stephen finds his own identity and finally compels him to choose to fly past their nets into a self-imposed exile. How courageous Stephen is. As for an intellectual， nothing can be more important than remaining intellectual integrity.
References：
[1]Joyce，James.A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.London： Wordsworth Edition Limited，1992.
[2]W.Said.Representation of the Intellectual.New York：Pantheon Books，1994.
Stephen Dedalus is named after the Greek mythological character， a renowned craftsman and inventor， who devised a Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete but had himself imprisoned instead. In escaping from his own architectural masterpiece， Dedalus created wings of wax and feathers for himself and his son Icarus. By employing Dedalus as his protagonist’s surname， Joyce tends to express what he writes on the aphorism before the novel “Et ignotas animum dimittit in artes”， meaning in English “And he sets his mind to work upon unknown arts and chages the law of nature”. The motto can be interpreted as James Joyce’s artistic declaration， of which he gained from breaking with the ties and restraints from his family， his church and country.
Stephen Dedalus is a “real intellectual” and how he represents it from the aspects of his thinking mind， his non-conformism and his final choice of self-imposed exile.
Stephen Dedalus：A Thinking Mind
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel centers on a thinking mind， his consciousness and sub-consciousness. Following the stream-of-consciousness of Stephen Dedalus， the chronological sequence of a series of happenings seems not that important. It depicts in depth Stephen’s moments of triumph and spiritual elevation being consistently followed by episodes of deflation. In those ups and downs， Stephen thinks and reflects on in depth everything around him anywhere and everywhere， increasingly reaching his intellectual maturity. If thinking is the preliminary of a latter gained critical spirit， consciously or unconsciously， becoming a critical intellectual is Stephen’s fate. Stephen Dedalus：An Unco-opted Intellectual
As intellectuals own wilder， and at the same time， more specified knowledge in specific field， to govern a nation or lead a corporate， authorities need to co-opt those who serve for and be loyal to them. Stephen renounced the religious vocation and go to university pursuing， remaining outside the mainstream， unaccommodated， uncoopted， and resistant. The decision to turn from a religious vocation makes him realize that he is now free—free to pursue the pleasures of life through art. By rejecting director’s offering， Stephen chose the loneliness， to stay away from the mainstream but remain true to his own heart.
An Intellectual’s Decision of Self-imposed Exile
Exile brings a feeling of being abandoned， loneliness and helplessness. It is the last thing an individual would like to be put into. “Exile is one of the saddest fates ... it not only meant years of aimless wandering away from family and familiar places， but also meant being a sort of permanent out cast， someone who never felt at home and always at odds with the environment， inconsolable about the past， bitter about the present and the future”（47）. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man， by resisting all collective relationship and isolating himself from family， school， religion and nation， Stephen finds his own identity and finally compels him to choose to fly past their nets into a self-imposed exile. How courageous Stephen is. As for an intellectual， nothing can be more important than remaining intellectual integrity.
References：
[1]Joyce，James.A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.London： Wordsworth Edition Limited，1992.
[2]W.Said.Representation of the Intellectual.New York：Pantheon Books，1994.