Water Imagery in a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man free essay sample

In the very beginning of the story, when looking at â€Å"When you wet the bed first it is warm then it gets cold† (7), it can be explained that the memory of wetting himself thus presents an uncomfortable feeling. Stephen was still too little to fully recognize surroundings with his thinking, deduction and judgment at the time, and therefore he had to rely on physical sensation. Consequently, memory of water as an unpleasantness thus is established. The distasteful imagery goes on. When Wells pushed Stephen into the ditch, Stephen described the water â€Å"cold and slimy† (14). If Stephen was meant to be an artist, is the bully behavior suggesting Ireland’s suppressing creativity and artists? However, this is just a random thought that I came upon which has nothing to do with water imagery. Focusing on the water imagery, Stephen was sick after the incident. When resting in the infirmary, he had a subconscious dream about the sea of waves, dark waves. We will write a custom essay sample on Water Imagery in a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page And then there’s Parnell the nationalist’s death. Combine those two images, hence we can deduct the conclusion that Stephen is repulsed by the dark sea and likens the feeling with Irish politics and religion. As chapter one pushing close to the end, Stephen became a hero among the peers. The celebration of his bravery didn’t last long. There is a subtle transformation within Stephen from the Christmas dinner to going up to the rector. Going through a metamorphosis, Stephen becomes less and less innocent as days go by. Humanity, religion, politics, bullies, hypocrisy have failed his naive nature as well as his soul. â€Å"†¦like drops of water in a fountain falling softly in the brimming bowl† (59), the description seems to me the process of Stephen’s soul being damaged. It’s as if his innocent, unique soul dripping drop by drop into the consciousness of commonwealth. So far the water imagery has been altogether unpleasant. However, a crucial turning point appears at the end of chapter four. At the beach he met the girl with long hair. Stephen then had an epiphany about life is â€Å"to live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life† (172)! â€Å"His soul was swooning into some new world† (172), indicates the event set Stephen free. The water was clean and glimmering which cleansed his soul. There, he found redemption from the calm and serene power of the sea. From observing the water imagery, it is evident that water represents Stephen’s soul, transformation, and his inner feelings. For water can create mirroring effect, what Stephen sees actually correspond to his emotional feelings.