A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Stephen Daedalus is influenced by the people surrounding him, but that influence causes him to fear himself and hide his voice from the world. His Catholic upbringing causes him to repress his emotions. When he acts on his lust he feels incredible guilt and has trouble forgiving himself. He doesn't understand the world around him the way other people seem to, yet tries to to belong at the expense of himself. The society Stephen lives in forces ideas upon him, but Stephen must choose to accept or reject the ideas. As a boy, Stephen is docile and easily influenced by the adults around him. He becomes an incredibly pious boy after repenting for his sins, but his pious facade hides the power Stephen feels from knowing one bad act can undo all the pious work Stephen has done. Stephen is a stranger to society and represses himself until finally he takes control of himself to develop his needs as an artist. The relationships in Stephen's life influence him, but his perception of the world defines him. Stephen uses a woman he hardly knows, Emma, to idolize women in a perfect, untainted form. His perception of the world sets him apart from others. He greets the world with curiosity and wonder. His understanding is sensory, smells and colors sparking his imagination. His imagination divides him from others. Stephen doesn't know how to fit in, his view of the world preventing him from conforming. By overcoming the conformity of his religion and his country, the conformity he held to perfection in his youth, Stephen can become the artist. He realized that the priesthood wasn't his goal and used the mindset that separated him from his peers to his advantage. Stephen turned his understanding of the world into an art form. He used his voice. Stephen Daedalus used his difference to his advantage. He broke away from the beliefs that influenced his upbringing and followed his desire to understand beauty. He found his voice when he accepted his inability to conform to society. I want to focus my cumulative essay on the idea that what makes unique can also help them. What separates us from society can help us, whether we use that quality to find philosophical enlightenment (Meursault) or personal enlightenment (Stephen Daedalus).