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This semi-autobiography depicts the story of a young Irish boy, Stephen Dedalus and his intellectual and religious-philosophical awakening to his social, familial constraints and his entry into a broader world. Being the oldest son of an impoverished father and a highly devout Catholic mother, he struggles to come to terms with his family, his nation, and his religion, and finally leaves his motherland to seek his identity. Infusing modernistic techniques of literature, especially the 'stream of consciousness' technique, the novel is loaded with themes like constraints and entrapment and their resultant outcomes like sense of independence and escape.
About the author
James Joyce was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1882 and is considered one of the most influential modernist writers of the 20th century. He studied at University College Dublin, where he developed his interest in literature, philosophy, and languages. His early works, including Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, established his reputation as a groundbreaking writer who explored themes of identity, exile, and human consciousness.Joyce spent much of his adult life in self-imposed exile, living in cities such as Paris, Zurich, and Trieste. During this period, he completed his most famous work, Ulysses (1922), which revolutionized the modern novel with its stream-of-consciousness technique and intricate structure. Although controversial and banned in several countries for its explicit content, Ulysses became a landmark of literary innovation and remains a key text in the modernist canon.His final major work, Finnegans Wake (1939), further pushed the boundaries of language and narrative complexity. Joyce's innovative use of language, his deep engagement with Irish identity, and his examination of the inner workings of the mind have cemented his legacy as one of the great literary figures of the 20th century. He died in Zurich in 1941.
