Stream of Ignorance

My first reaction to the stream of consciousness technique is that it is kind of annoying. In our minds, we seamlessly transition from one topic to the next, but, when this is done in a book, in a thing we’re supposed to be following with respect to plot and character development, I find myself getting lost. I hope this will go away (maybe it won’t), but for now I will closely look at one of the more meaningful stream of consciousness passages, in which Stephen thinks about God and politics.

Illustration of Stream of Consciousness. Does that look easy to follow?

Although Stephen tries to study, he enters into one of those trains of thought that is just too interesting to leave. The very fact that his mind even jumps like this says something about the sensibility of an artist, who, as Steven thinks in this train of thought, “did not know well what politics meant” (12). Stephen’s concern about the nature of God seems odd to modern readers because most discussions of this nature are waged over the battle line of “Is God real or isn’t he?” Stephen’s upbringing obviously has instilled in him a belief in God, so he ends up thinking about something that might been seen as rather simplistic: God’s name in different languages. The conclusion of this thought, which amounts to “God is God,” also is simplistic and highlights how Stephen has not yet critically examined his faith. The very next paragraph suggests that Stephen has some maturing to do before he’ll take on such an issue (if he ever will at all): “It made him very tired to think that way” (12). Concerning politics, Stephen again reveals, although this time he is aware of it, how little he knows. Interesting that in light of this dearth of knowledge Stephen thinks himself “small and weak” (13). By the end of his thoughts on God and politics, Stephen has exposed his sensibility—I guess which is that of an artist—to be at odds with or have a tough time adapting to weightier intellectual realms. Something tells me that Joyce will continue to examine the artist’s interplay with philosophy and politics throughout Portrait.