Introduction A portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce goes down in history as one of the most excellent books of literature. Although there are other characters in the book, the story is centered on Stephen Dedalus. He is raised in a staunch catholic home by his father, mother, Uncle Charles and Aunt Dante. Other minor characters in the book are Stephen’s friends, the priests and Emma. Religion plays an important role in the book. It is a symbol of the state of Ireland during that period. Growing up, Stephen is dedicated to following the beliefs of the church. Later on, the protagonist rebels from his religion and adopts an extremely dangerous lifestyle of drinking and uniting his body with prostitutes. After hearing the speech of a priest he cleans up his act and becomes extremely devoted to his religion again. The extreme lifestyle that Stephen adopts forces him to make a stand about his life. As the book comes to the end, we see Stephen moving on to a life of liberty outside Ireland (Joyce 247). The most unique aspect of the book is the author’s innovative use of sense to describe the thoughts and feelings of the character. The author takes us on a journey of the transformation of the character’s mind. All the developments are internal. It is difficult to comprehend where conversation starts or ends due to lack of quotation inscription in the entire book (Joyce 6). The senses capture how his mind develops from the thinking of a susceptible child who is pushed around by a bully to a defiant young man who wants nothing to do with his religion. The conflict in his mind between the search for fulfillment in his gifting and pleasing his family is drawn out using sense. What Stephen hears, sees, touches, smells and tastes affects how his mind responds to life. Discussion Hearing Sense is illustrated by what Stephen hears from his parents, relatives, governess, priests and friends. The story begins with Mr. Dedalus singing to his son (Joyce 7). Music is presented ubiquitously in the backdrop of the story. His mother also played the piano so he could dance. At the same time, the conversations that Stephen heard at family dinners influenced his upbringing. During Christmas break, he was allowed to eat with the adults. At dinner, an argument erupted between his father and Aunt Dante; this argument exposed the young boy to politics (Joyce 31). In the same sitting, his father forgot his presence at the table and spoke bad language. Furthermore, the words that Stephen heard from Aunt Dante had great influence on him. When Stephen expressed a desire to marry Eileen their protestant neighbor, his mother and aunt were very furious. Aunt Dante threatened that if Stephen did not apologize then the eagles would pluck off his eyes. This statement frightened the young boy. Stephen reflected on the lyrics and tunes of different song throughout the story. His attitude and his thoughts are influenced by the words of the several songs. For example, as he was thinking about whether he should be part of Jesuits, he is dazed at how the local priest acts in response to a song playing from the road. What he heard and saw made him realize that he could not become a priest (Joyce 80). In the last chapter, Stephen’s determination to