... into debt. He is an impoverished former medical student with a strong sense of patriotism who spends a great deal of his time reliving past experiences, lost in his own sentimental nostalgia. Joyce often uses Simon to symbolize the bonds and burdens that Stephen's family and nationality place ... rebel. The closest look we get at Simon is on the visit to Cork with Stephen, where Simon gets drunk and sentimentalizes about his past. Joyce paints a picture of a man who has ruined himself and, instead of facing his problems, drowns them in alcohol and nostalgia. Returning ... physical desi...

• Word Count: 4998
• Approx Pages: 20
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to his physical desires brings mixed emotions for Stephen, and feelings of guilt and shame soon overtake him, "From the evil seed of lust all other deadly sins had sprung forth: pride in himself and contempt of others, envy of those whose vices he could not reach to and calumnious murmuring against the pious, ... that Father Arnall talks about strike fear in Stephen, realizing that his soul will forever pay for his bodily sins. Now confronted with the consequences of his worldly indulgences, Stephen recognizes his need to admit his sins not only to himself, but to God in order to relieve...

• Word Count: 761
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... goodness of God" (116-117). The second is the pain of conscience, "the sting of conscience, the first sting will be the memory of past pleasures, the second sting will be the late and fruitless sorrow for sins committed, and the third will be the fact that their repentance has come too late" (118). The third spiritual pain is the pain of ... ...

• Word Count: 1614
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School