How does a writer come to be? For Stephen Daedalus, a strict religious upbringing and early life at a Catholic boarding school almost set him on a path to priesthood. When his father's spendthrift ways force the family to move to Dublin, Stephen's whole world is suddenly changed, with new experiences around every corner. To truly become a great writer, he must leave behind everything he knows and carve out his own path.
James Joyce's first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man explores the search for identity and meaning that every artist goes through. Not afraid to delve into the grittier aspects of adolescence, the author's most autobiographical work was a hit with the critics for its complexity and original prose.
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