Religion in World Lit

Religion plays a huge part in Stephen Dedalus’s as well as many other peoples lives

around the world. To fully understand how much religion effected Stephen, one must have a

concept of the setting of the novel. Stephen grew up in Ireland when the country was going

through religious turmoil, political hardships and suffering financial. The two major religions in

Ireland are Catholic and Protestant. Though out Ireland’s history the two have been basically at

war with one another. This period in time is right before Ireland’s war for independents.

At an early age Stephen witnesses how friends and families are torn apart from religious

differences. At Christmas dinner Mr. Casey, Mr. Dedalus and Dante go back and fourth arguing.

All you hear at the dinner table is“I’ll pay for your dues, father, when you cease turning the house

of God into a polling booth”(Joyce 29). “A nice answer, said Dante, for any man calling himself a

catholic to give to his priest”, they would just constantly bicker in front of young Stephen. Then

at the end of dinner Stephen has to hear his dad saying “Well, my Christmas dinner has been

spoiled anyhow”(32). Going though that at Stephens young age would have to negatively effect

him. I think there Stephen starts to be skeptical about his religion. It shows Stephen is effected

here “The fellows were all silent. Stephen stood among them, afraid to speak, listening” (40).

Stephen’s religion shapes him in so many ways. His religion tells him how to run his life. I

think due to the it represses him sexually. He wanted to experiment sexually. So Stephen goes

into the town of Dublin and gets a prostitute. Stephen feels he has committed a terrible thing. I

mean sleeping with a hooker isn’t a good thing, but its not the end of the world. In the book

Joyce goes on for a while about Stephens felling for what he did.

“Yes, a just God! Men, reasoning always as men, are astonished that’s God should

mete out an everlasting and infinite punishment in the fires of hell for a single

grievous sin. [. . .] They reason thus because they are unable to comprehend that

even venial sin is such a foul and hideous nature. [. . .] A sin, an instant folly and

weakness, drove Adam and Eve out of Eden and brought death and suffering into

the world.” (144)

Joyce takes a lot of time to show Stephen repenting. I feel there is a significance for that.

Stephen’s Religion looks so down upon what he has just done. Stephen feels in order to be a

good person you must be a good catholic. His religious beliefs are shaping his feelings right now.

After Stephen confesses what he has done to the monk he decides to purify his life.

Stephen would like to be a good catholic and make his way on to priesthood. He then realizes that

his religious life would deny all the pleasures he is so often tempted by. Stephen decides to turn

away from a religious occupation and that’s when he realizes he wants to leave a pursue other

things. If Stephen didn’t have all the religious struggles I think he would of turned out a different

way. He might have continued in a religious vocation, he needed the struggle ti turn him towards

what he really wanted out of life.

R.K. Naryan uses religion in his book The