A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man By James Joyce

One part of the novel that really struck me was the stream of consciousness style of writing. Not only was it an interesting an different style than I am used to (I will get into that more in the reaction section) but it is easy to observe Stephen's growth into an artist, and his maturation in his use of language and words. First of all through this stream of consciousness style of writing Stephen's maturation in language is very distinct; comparing one line from the first page, "his father told him that story: his father looked at him through a glass: he had a hairy face" (Joyce 3) to a line from the back of the book, "the soft beauty of the Latin words touched with an enchanting touch the dark of the evening, with a touch fainter and more persuading than the touch of music or of a woman's hand" (Joyce 265). It is clear and evident through stream of consciousness that his diction has expanded to more complex words, and his syntax has also become more complex, the sentences are longer and more dynamic. The comparison of these two sentences display his development into the artist that he is at the end of the novel; the first sentence is short, and is mostly just observable facts, while the second sentence at the end of the novel is much more than observable facts. It compares the Latin words that Cranly said to music and a woman's hand. Stephen incorporates personification into this sentence and gives the sound of the words a human quality, the ability to touch. Through words Stephen has the ability to create a painting of sound. Through the story Stephen has come to realize the beauty of words and their meaning, often thinking about the connotation and denotation of different words. Through stream of consciousness Joyce shows Stephen's development into an artist through Stephen's changing diction and his ability to create illustrations with words.


"And for ages men had gazed upward upward as he was gazing at birds in flight. The colonnade above him made him think vaguely of an ancient temple and the ashplant on which he leaned wearily of the curved stick of an augur. A sense of fear of the unknown moved in the heart of his weariness, a fear of symbols and portents, of the hawklike man whose name he bore soaring out of his captivity on osierwoven wings, of Thoth, the god of writers, writing with a reed upon a tablet and bearing on his narrow ibis head the cusped moon" (Joyce 244).

In this quote Stephen ponders over his choice to become an artist, he knows that it may not be the easiest or safest thing to choose, this is shown through the allusion to Daedalus, the artist in Greek Mythology, he created wings to fly out of the labyrinth that he and his son were confined to as a punishment. Daedalus arrived safely on land but his son, Iacrus, flew too close to the sun and fell to his death. Stephen realizes that he can have the same fate as Icarus. He is also comparing the colonnade to an old temple and alluding to a group of Romans that interpret omens for guidence. This also shows that Stephen is nervous of his future and how it will turn out. The mention of flight and birds, however, shows that Stephen is ready to take that leap, or flight, of faith and become the artist that he wants to be. That he is ready to move on a become his own person and escape the snares of the soceity, become the artist instead of the priest,  just like Daedalus escaped from the labyrinth.    


A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was very interesting. I liked the plot of the story, Stephen growing up and realizing his individuality; but the stream of conscousness, though very interesting, was very confusing, and throughout the whole novel I found it difficult to read. I barely understood what I was reading because it took me so long to read one page. I do really want to have a better understanding of this novel because it is such an amazing novel, and it is exceptionallly well written. It was just so hard to comprehend because of the style of writing and the unfamiliar words that Joyce uses. I don't hate this book but it wasn't my favorite either. I might, later in my life reread it, but I don't think that will be relatively soon.
  

Poem Analysis Nummer zwei!!!

A work of Artifice

By: Marge Piercy

poem number 263

The bonsai tree

in the attractive pot

could have grown eighty feet tall

on the side of a mountain

till split by lightning.

But a gardener

carefully pruned it.

It is nine inches high.

Every day as he

whittles back the branches

the gardener croons,

It is your nature

to be small and cozy,

domestic and weak;

how lucky, little tree,

to have a pot to grow in.

With living creatures

one must begin very early

to dwarf their growth:

the bound feet,

the crippled brain,

the hair in curlers,

the hands you

love to touch.

Structure of the poem

The structure and set up of the poem itself is very important to the meaning of the poem. all the lines have been kept short to represent the small limbs of the bonsai tree and, in turn, the oppression of women so become the best they can be. Also diction is important to the poem's meaning, Piercy is comparing women to the Bonsai tree and by saying that the bonsai tree grows in an "attractive pot" instead of just a regular pot shows the idea that women should be beautiful and attractive. Also the word choice for the tree "Domestic and weak" (14) shows that women have to stay home and not be strong, both physically and mentally.

Allusion

Also the whole poem alludes to how women were viewed before they had equal rights. The Bonsai tree alludes to women and the gardener to men. It is a poem about how women were kept from growing to their full potential and how men made sure of that. Women were told that it was their job to be domestic and weak, and they were lucky to have a home to grow in. The bound feet alludes to women's inability to do anything they want to do, for example to have a job. "The crippled brain" (22) alludes to women not being able to go to school or get the same education. Also the "attractive pot" (2) and "hair in curlers" shows that women were supposed to be pretty trophy wives who stay home and clean and wait for their husbands to get home.

Reflection

I did like this poem because I felt like it portrayed the unfairness that women were treated with, and it was not harshly blaming men for the inequality that women were treated with, not all men thought of women that way. Also  I noticed that towards the middle of the poem it started to become more obvious that Piercy was not just writing about a Bonsai tree and its Gardener, but was talking about women's rights. Towards the middle she started to write things like "domestic and weak" (14) and then she started to say things like "Bound feet", and "Crippled brain", when she switched from writing about a tree to writing about women's rights I could really feel the emotion and the struggle behind the words. I think that is what I liked most about this poem. It connected me with the past.

Poem Analysis Numero Uno!!!

Siren Song

By: Margaret Atwood

poem number 201. 

This is the one song everyone

would like to learn: the song

that is irresistible:

the song that forces men

to leap overboard in squadrons

even though they see the beached skulls

the song nobody knows

because anyone who has heard it

is dead, and the others can't remember.

Shall I tell you the secret

and if I do, will you get me

out of this bird suit?

I don't enjoy it here

squatting on this island

looking picturesque and mythical

with these two feathery maniacs,

I don't enjoy singing

this trio, fatal and valuable.

I will tell the secret to you,

to you, only you.

Come closer. This song

is a cry for help: Help me!

Only you, only you can,

you are unique

at last. Alas

It is a boring song

but it works every time.

Allusion

One of the literary devices in this poem is the allusion to the three sirens in Greek Mythology that were called Seirenes. The Sirens were given the body of birds, this is what Atwood refers to when the speaker says "bird suit" and "feathery maniacs". The sirens would sing songs to entice sailors to come closer to the island they lived on, then the sirens would drown their victims. The knowledge of this story helps to create an image of three creatures that lure passing sailors into their web with song. You know the Siren's intentions as soon as you read the title, but Atwood's twist makes the speaker seem as though she is unhappy and needs help. The speaker lures the passing sailor into her trap by making him feel unique and special by saying that he is the only one that can save her. The speaker gains the sailor's trust by enticing him with secret, forbidden knowledge of the Siren's song, but in the end the secret song was the one she has sung to him. 

Repetition

Another literary device in this poem is the repetition of the words only you. It gives the sense of the speakers urgency and desperation to be freed from the island, even if these feelings are fake. Actually many pieces of this poem are repeated to create the emotions of desperation and urgency which help the Siren's song become more believable. For example the words "I don't" are repeated,  " I don't enjoy it here" (13), and "I don't enjoy singing" (17), this helps the Siren seem innocent and it helps to hide the fact that she is the predator and the sailor the prey.

Reflection

I picked this poem because it reminded me of a song about someone lying to the singer like a Siren lies to the Sailors. After reading this poem I realized that there was similarity between the two, but I also thought of Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale and its feminist qualities. So after reading the poem again and a few moments of thought I realized that this poem could also be about feminism. The Siren could be portrayed as a "Damsel in distress" that men, the sailor, think need help getting out of their "bird suit". When actually the "Damsel in distress" is capable of handling the problem on her own, shown through the fact that her task was accomplished by the end of the poem. Also the line "looking picturesque and mythical" (15) makes me think that Atwood was saying that women are not some object to look at, they have brains and are just as smart and clever as men. I cannot tie the rest of the poem to this theme so I believe they are more qualities of the poem that can be interpreted this way instead of the whole poem.