James Augustine
Aloysius Joyce
2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941
By
Parallels
James Joyce was Ireland’s bestknown writer. He set the stage for
the literature of the 20th century, in
much the same way Picasso set
the stage for the art of the 20th
century.
Many of his works included aspects
from his own life. A Portrait of the
Artist as a Young Man (APAYM),
published in 1916, was semiautobiographical; the protagonist,
Stephen Dedalus, underwent
many of Joyce’s experiences.
This timeline will draw parallels
between Stephen’s life and
Joyce’s life.
"Once upon a time and a very good time it was there
was a moocow coming down along the road and this
moocow that was coming down along the road met a
nicens little boy named baby tuckoo....“
The
Beginning
–APAYM, Chapter 1
James Joyce was born on February 2,
1882 to a Roman Catholic family in
the Dublin suburbs. He was the
oldest of 10 surviving children; two of
his siblings died of typhoid. Stephen
Dedalus was also the oldest of many
siblings.
Joyce’s nickname as a baby was
tuckoo.
Clongowes
James Joyce was educated by the
Jesuit order at Clongowes Wood
College, a boarding school which
he attended from 1888 to 1892. He
had to drop out when his father
could no longer pay the fees.
“Stephen Dedalus
Class of Elements
Clongowes Wood College
Sallins
County Kildare
Similarly, Stephen Dedalus attended
Ireland
Clongowes for several years. The
Europe
year his younger brother was about
The World
to join him at Clongowes, he had to
The Universe”
– APAYM, Chapter 2
drop out because of his family’s
financial difficulties.
“The chill and order of the life repelled him. He saw himself rising
in the cold of the morning and filing down with the others to early
mass and trying vainly to struggle with his prayers against the
fainting sickness of his stomach.”
–APAYM, Chapter 4
Belvedere
In 1893, Joyce was offered a place in
the Jesuits' Dublin school, Belvedere
College. The offer was made partly
in the hope that he would join the
Order and become a man of the
cloth.
Stephen also attended Belvedere after
Clongowes. There, he conflicted with
himself about his religious devotion.
Both Joyce and Stephen ultimately
rejected Catholicism by the age of
16.
The
University
“Yes! Yes! Yes! He would create proudly out of the
freedom and power of his soul, as the great artificer
whose name he bore, a living thing new and soaring
and beautiful, impalpable, imperishable.”
–APAYM, Chapter 5
Joyce enrolled at the University College Dublin in 1898. He studied
modern languages, including English, French and Italian. He also
became active in theatrical and literary circles in the city. He wrote a
number of articles and at least two plays during this period.
The University College Dublin was, for Stephen, a place of
intellectual development where he realized he was destined to be an
artist. His friends there were based on Joyce’s college friends.
A New
Beginning
“Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the
millionth time the reality of experience and to
forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated
conscience of my race.”
–APAYM, Chapter 5
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
portrayed Joyce’s emotional, spiritual,
and intellectual development through.
At the end of A Portrait of the Artist,
Stephen realizes that he wants to leave
Ireland forever. Joyce left Ireland
himself in 1903 after graduation from
University College Dublin. He went to
Paris, where he worked in several
occupations, including journalism and
teaching.
This is where the parallels between
Joyce’s life and A Portrait of the Artist
as a Young Man end.
Family
Joyce did not leave Ireland forever at
that point. He returned to Dublin,
Ireland again in 1904 to see his
mother at her deathbed.
While in Dublin, he met Nora Barnacle.
They formed a romantic relationship
immediately, and soon afterwards,
returned to Paris. Nora had their first
son, Giorgio, there in 1905. In 1907,
she had a another child, a daughter
named Lucia.
Joyce finally married Nora in 1931, 26
years after the birth of their first child.
Writings
Throughout his life, Joyce wrote many novels,
short stories, and poems. His most famous
novels include Ulysses, Dubliners, and
Finnegans Wake. Exiles is his most famous
book of poems.
Ulysses, published in 1922, contributed to the
development of 20th century modernist
literature. The novel takes place in one day,
with each of is 18 chapters covering about
one hour of that day. Each chapter employs
its own literary style and references Homer’s
Odyssey. In addition, each chapter has its
own color, body organ, and art or science.
The book was highly controversial; so much so
that English customs officials burned 500
copies of it.
Health and Death
Joyce, throughout his life, had eye problems and had to
have ten major operations on his eyes. He was almost
blind by the time of his death in 1941. After undergoing
surgery for a perforated ulcer on January 11th, he went
into a coma and died shortly afterwards.
His wife Nora survived
him by ten years. A
Catholic priest wanted to
hold a Mass service for
him. Nora refused; she
said, “I couldn’t do that to
him.”
Works Cited
 "James Joyce." Wikipedia. 10 Jan. 2008. 12 Jan. 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce>.
 "James Joyce Centre." The James Joyce Centre. The James Joyce
Centre. 12 Jan. 2008 <http://www.jamesjoyce.ie>.
 "James Joyce -- Literature and Works." The Literature
Network. 12 Jan. 2008 <http://www.onlineliterature.com/james_joyce>.
 "Old World Cradle." PoshTots. 13 Jan. 2008
<http://www.poshtots.com/catalog/207/4116/product_detail.asp>.
 "University of Ulster." Ireland in Summer. 13 Jan. 2008
<http://www.irelandinsummer.com/accommodation.php?id=12>.
 "Amazon.Ca: a Portrait of the Artist as a: DVD: Joseph Strick,..."
Amazon.Ca. Amazon. 13 Jan. 2008
<http://www.amazon.ca/Portrait-Artist-As-JosephStrick/dp/B00004W19S>.