"A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man" This essay discusses certain elements of the novel that symbolizes the main character, Stephen Dedalus, to Joyce himself.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce draws on many details of Joyce's own actual life, while also using fictional situations and events. Although the novel is more than just autobiographical, its protagonist, Stephen Dedalus, is essentially Joyce's "alter ego," a "fictional double," if you will. Both Stephen and Joyce share the same political and religious background and encounter the same influences and pressures. They both were the son of a devoutly religious mother and a financially clumsy father, resulting in their constant relocations. Like his protagonist, Joyce…