A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
(James Joyce)

Nocturnal Life

Joyce has stated that “Finnegans Wake” is an experiment in reconstructing the notion of nocturnal life. The book is meant to be the dream state that Finn is in while he lies on his death bed, recalling the history of Ireland from his spot by the river Liffey.

The book begins with Finnegan falling asleep or passing out, and it ends with him waking at dawn and the river he had been dreaming of slowly drifting away. Dreams are nonsensical, and often change location and characters at will, and the novel brings that imaginative dream-state to life.

Polar Opposites

This can also be seen as good vs. evil in some circumstances. There is always more than one version of a character, or in the case of Shaun and Shem, twins who represent decidedly different people. HCE and APL can be seen as older versions in Joe and Kate; Shaun and Shem are the good vs evil twins who are totally different people, as are every different representation of them, and Issy is a split-personality, representing the good vs evil within herself. Every character has a version of him/herself that is the polar opposite from the original, if there is even an original.

Sexual Abuse

The book begins with HCE going on trial and being accused of having an inappropriate relationship with two young girls in a park. HCE tries to deny the rumors, but ends up incriminating himself in the process. He admits that his main shortcoming is his desire for young girls, especially his daughter Issy.

Issy seems to have a sexual relationship with her father and her brothers, Shaun and Shem, though it is not clear whether it is against her will. Perhaps the inappropriate sexual relationship may be consensual, but still just as disturbing.

Sibling Rivalry

While Issy does not seem to compete with her brothers, as she is obviously the most intelligent and insightful of the three, Shaun and Shem compete with one another often. Shaun is quiet, reserved, and quite a bit like his father, as some critics have even pegged him as a younger version of HCE. Shem is the “evil twin” who goes to longer lengths and has little regard for rules.

Shem and Shaun compete for the attention and love of many people around them including their parents, girls, and Issy. Shaun makes it his mission to deliver the letter for APL at any lengths because he does not want to let his mother down, and Shem exiles himself when he feels rejected, as he is obviously more dramatic.

Story Within a Story

The story of “Finnegans Wake” follows a dream state, but the dreams are made up of various other stories. There is a series of vignettes that seemingly have nothing to do with the rest of the story, but the story itself makes no sense so conversely, it almost makes sense to add other strange elements.

There are many stories of tragic love, dichotomous characters, and versions of the letter that Shaun makes it his mission to deliver. There are war stories where HCE portrays several different characters, and there are even entirely different (yet the same) families showcased.