I had not really read all that much Joyce before I embarked on this comparatively small journey to Ulysses's pages (though importantly not temporal setting) which does enough to daunt and damn the plain reader before getting to the first page.

The thing is with A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is that I had isolated myself from any of the criticism on the work itself except for the note that it was semi-autobiographical. I had been told that Joyce was unparalleled in the Twentieth for his use of language hence my confusion when the work starts in very plain language and the most intriguing parts of the first few chapters is the discussion on Parnell.

I think the main turning point comes not upon Stephen's sexual encounter but rather ingeniously after Father Arnall's rather long sermon on the day of judgement and what is develops afterwards is a rather different Dedalus and a rather different language; the immaculate use of language for which Joyce is so famous for. It really does become a joy to read, an absolute literary orgy. Just purely on the use of language, still more on the theme of exile, the historical context has to be kept in mind. Not only is Joyce a different man by the time he has finished the work but the world is a different place.