“A portrait of the artist as a young man” is a “Kunstlerroman” and the story of a young artistic aspirant in a particular social context. This is why the political backdrop of the novel is so important, as it provides the environment in which the artist can grow. This political and social backdrop therefore remains an ever-present force in the narrative, introduced in great detail in the first chapter, and providing one of the most powerful reasons for Stephen Dedalus' voluntary exile in the fifth. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The novel's backdrop is the anti-colonial movement against the English in 19th-century Ireland, which began with the Act of Union in 1800, making Ireland part of the United Kingdom and abolishing a separate Irish parliament in Dublin. Over the course of the century, various political and social movements arose in Ireland, giving expression to Irish demands for greater control over their own affairs. The Home Rule movement, led by Charles Stewart Parnell (arguably the greatest individual force of the era), is particularly relevant to this novel; the Agrarian Reform movement led by Michael Davitt also comes into play. The first line of the novel catapults the reader into the heated political arena of this period. Little Stephen is listening to the story his father told about a “mooo going down the road” who met “a nice little boy named Baby Tuckoo”1. Here, the cow, being the symbol of Ireland, is directly compared to Baby Tuckoo, or Stephen. This comparison becomes a major theme of the novel and is brought up whenever the nation is mentioned. For example, even when Stephen writes his name in the flyleaf of his geography book, he cannot limit his address to “Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare, Ireland”, but must continue as – “Ireland, Europe, The World, The Universe”2 – implying that even at this age Stephen sees himself not simply as an Irishman, but as a citizen of the Universe. This is later supported by the fact that he rejects narrow Irish nationalism and chooses to leave Ireland for Europe in a self-induced exile. The novel, as previously stated, is set in revolutionary Ireland of 1880-1900. , and the story of this period is filtered to us through Stephen's consciousness. Stephen's father, a staunch supporter of Parnell, is against Dante (Stephen's housekeeper), who is a fanatical supporter of the Catholic Church. The two brushes always kept in Dante's press - one green and the other brown - become politically symbolic, denoting Parnell and Michael Davitt respectively. The colors brown and green recur constantly throughout the novel, from the green of the brown earth and clouds that Fleming had colored in Stephen's geography book, to the red and green holly in the Christmas decorations at Stephen's house. We also later find that Dante tears the green velvet from the back of the green brush to indicate his changed feelings towards Parnell in accordance with his break with the Catholic Church. The famous Christmas dinner in the first chapter abruptly makes Stephen aware of the evil and pettiness of politics. But even before this section we have several instances where we realize that Stephen's life is never free from politics. An important example of this is the waking dream Stephen has in Clongowes Infirmary, of Parnell's death. It is curious that whenever Stephen thinks about Parnell and his immense popularity, Dante is always involved in one way or another, expressing energetic opposition to the leader. This enmity between the two parties isso great that Stephen is sometimes confused, expressing pain at not knowing what politics meant. Christmas dinner brings all this to a head, and for the first time sees the calm and dignified adults arguing bitterly and ferociously over issues, the importance of which he, at the age of six, is unable to understand. He sees Dante shouting with a complete lack of control at those who commit heresy in defiance of the Church, and he sees his father and Mr. Casey shouting blasphemies at the priests and crying uncontrollably over their dead leader. The seeds of revolt against Church and State are sown in Stephen's mind today. He cannot hear about the grave flaws of the Church as a child, then accept the priesthood later in Chapter IV, as a young man, and then, despite himself, rejects the offer made to him by the headmaster of Belvedere College.Parnell, however, is much more than a simple historical figure and takes on a powerful symbolic presence in Stephen's consciousness. His heroic stature takes on tragic dimensions, and this is used by Joyce to unite the religious and political themes in the novel. Although he is a great political figure, Parnell's downfall is caused by religious institutions, and this fact plays an important role in the shaping of Stephen's mind from childhood to adulthood. In Chapter V, during his conversation with his friend Davin, Stephen makes a very important statement about those aspects of man's life that bind him to certain worldly ideals that he would prefer to avoid – “The soul is born……. first of all in those moments I spoke to you about. It has a slow and dark birth, more mysterious than the birth of the body. When a man's soul is born in this country, nets are thrown at it to keep it from escaping. Tell me about nationality, language, religion. I will try to fly with those nets”3. In this novel, politics, like religion, family, language and religion, are seen as another of the "nets" thrown over the soul "to prevent it from escaping". It is like an obstacle to the artistic spirit, and Stephen decides to overcome it, like all the other “networks”. The fifth chapter analyzes in detail Stephen's reasons for rejecting nationalism and nationalistic politics. In accordance with his role as a rebel against authority, he is the lone student who refuses to join McCann's push for universal peace. Another example of swimming against the current is his refusal to participate in nationalistic politics at the instance of his friend Davin, who is himself a strong nationalist. At the time in Ireland, nationalistic fervor was discovering an outlet in all aspects of traditional Celtic life and culture, one of which was traditional sporting events, through the Gaelic Athletic Association founded by Michael Cusack. Stephen not only detests physical activity, but directly rejects Davin's call to join the mainstream. Stephen also clearly gives us the reasons for this refusal. He likens Ireland to “a sow that eats its own farrowing,” for, in his view, his country bears witness to the betrayal of the very people who gave up their lives and comfort for its cause. He refuses to pay the price for the mistakes and conscious acts of betrayal committed by his ancestors and decides to leave his country for the mainland, to better express himself as an artist. He recalls with painful bitterness one particular instance which proved to him beyond a doubt that Ireland is not a place where good art and artists can thrive: the first performance of Yeats's play "The Countess Cathleen" all he inauguration of the Irish Literary Theater in 1899. The show had to be stopped halfway due to booing and criticism hurled at it by a bigoted audience who could not,.272.