Happiness: You Who Ultimately Decides

    The protagonist in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man written by James Joyce has an interestingly unique way in which he views the world. Stephen, it seems, has also been an outsider, yet it seems as if he chose to be there. When he was young, he enjoyed speculating from the side and viewing what the other boys were playing. Stephen began his life by having a negative outlook on life. He claimed that he had a skewed childhood and would never be happy. As Stephen is dragged into his own depths of negativity, Stephen decides to commit sins more and more, specifically with women. As Stephen slowly becomes more engulfed by his sins, he strays further and further from a chance at happiness. Until one day, he is impacted greatly by a priests talk about Hell and what happens if one commits a sin. Stephen becomes fearful of Hell and wants to escape the sins that have overtaken his soul. This is the beginning of Stephen creating a path towards happiness. He changes his life around, first by starting with a confession. While Stephen is still tempted by previous sins he has committed, he remains loyal to his new life style. This contributes to his overall happiness. Stephen realizes that he cannot do what everyone else what's him to do. He instead must decide things for himself and go his own way. He must live his life the way he wants to and he realizes this will enable him to experience happiness. While Stephen was not always a happy boy, Stephen made drastic changes within his life which ultimately guided him towards happiness.

Stephen chose happiness.