In "The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" we witness the childhood and early life of the main character Stephen. We watch him grow through his life and make some interestings decisions. We see Stephen grow as a character and how he gradually gains his own thoughts and ideas by the end of the book. Throughout the novel we see a Stephen that is consumed by society and what others believe. Stephen even uses different lanuages and quotes from other people to show how he hasn't established his own voice and beliefs in himself. He goes through his life going through periods of extremes, the sex and religion, while in the end he figures out that being all of something makes you a drone, while having your own ideas and opinions makes you who you are. I believe the ending of the book is sort of an explanitation of James Joyce making his decision to leave Ireland. Stephen has always felt a sort of isolation from society and even now after he has developed his own theory aesthetics, and is increasingly peocupied with art and beauty. Though he has gained some freindship he stills feels isolated. He has come to see Ireland as a trap, like the island in Dedalus is stuck on, and he realizes he must escape the restraints of his nation, religion, and family.