“A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” is a novel by James Joyce about a young man’s coming of age in Dublin, Ireland. The novel follows the main character, Stephen Dedalus, from his childhood through his college years. Stephen is a highly intelligent young man who is struggling to find his place in the world. He is torn between his desire to be an artist and his need to conform to the expectations of his family and society. Stephen’s journey to find himself is one of the most important themes in the novel.