Length: 6-8 pages
Due date: February 24
You are encouraged to come up with your own paper topic, but feel free
to use or modify one of the topics I have suggested below. All papers
should give evidence of close reading of the text being discussed.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
1. What is the relationship between Stephen's experience of religion--particularly sin--and his experience of beauty? You might in particular examine the beginning of Chapter 3 and the end of Chapter 4.
2. Stephen claims that he will use, in his defense, "silence, exile and cunning." In what ways does the text suggest problems with these defense mechanisms?
3. What is the relationship between the author and God in this text? Think not only about Stephen as author, but perhaps also Joyce as author.
4. Compare one of Joyce's poems with one of Stephen Dedalus's.
5. Create a brief portrait of the artist. Interpret this
however you would like; it should, however, be somehow relevant to the
Joyce text.
Dubliners
1. Explore one of the following concepts/metaphors as it appears in one or two (but no more than two) stories:
The East
gnomon
simony
confession
teeth
contract
manners (and gender)
2. How might the phrase "let him learn to box his corner" (2) tie to the larger themes present in "The Sisters"?
3. "Joyce, as an author, is like a priest." So spake
learned critic Kathryn Conrad. Examine this claim.