In James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus reacts towards his parents like many typical modern teenagers and teenagers of the early 1900s. Attitude and feelings Stephen's feelings about his parents change over the course of this book. His feelings change in a pattern similar to that of typical teenagers. Teenagers' attitudes haven't changed much over the years. Adolescents change physically and emotionally during the first few years of their lives. The activities teens engage in may have changed, but the intentions behind those actions have not. Teenagers have been rebelling since a long time ago, when Socrates was still alive. During the period of adolescence, the teenager goes through many changes that cause tension and changes in the family relationship. In the article Joyce and His First Self-Portrait by James T. Farrell, Farrell states that “there is no clear and complete picture of Stephen's relationship with his mother.”(3) I believe this statement can be true or false. That may be true based on the undefined feelings described in Stephen's book. Furthermore, there is no change in the feelings mentioned throughout Stephen's adolescence. Only three events in the book mention an affair between Stephen and his mother. The first instance is when Stephen is teased by Wells and the other older boys on the topic of kissing his mother. Wells asks Stephen, “do you kiss your mother before you go to bed?” This opens up the topic of whether he should kiss his mother or not. The other boys laugh at Stephen's confusion as he ponders this thought. (Joyce,6) During Christmas dinner, there is no direct reference to a relationship between... middle of the paper... today. As Stephen goes through adolescence he presents the characteristic of rebellion which puts a strain on his relationship with his parents. Stephen's relationship with his parents changes as he grows up. The reason for this change is a result of Stephen's changing cognitive ability during adolescence. He decides that he wants to be independent from his parents and wants to make his own decisions like many teenagers his age. Stephen goes through many obstacles in the book. Ultimately, he decides to leave his life in Ireland and move forward to live his own life and make his own decisions. He makes the decision to start his life as an adult. The events mentioned in the book represent the bridge that Stephen crosses into adulthood. Unfortunately in the meantime his relationship with his parents has changed for the worse and he doesn't want to reconcile with them.
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