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Julian Bell
Dr. Hall
English IV AP
5 October 2015
Cultural Criticism Research and notes
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Topic: Julius Caesars Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Italian, though probably originally
composed in Latin; de Bello Gallico = Latin) - Translated as Commentaries on the Gallic War
Julius Csar wrote The Calico Belly.90 In the novel, Caesars name is written with the British ae
placed closely together such as in the word encyclopdia which was discussed earlier in the year.
This manner in writing Caesars name must be indicative of the British publication of the book
(Penguin Books Great Britain)-1992. (Notes from book; idea first presented on pg. 43 through
the following excerpt): Some fellows had drawn it there for a cod. It had a funny face but it
was very like a man with a beard. And on the wall of another closet there was written in backhand in beautiful writing: Julius Caesar wrote The Calico Belly. Evident play on words
presented by James Joyce in his novel Portrait, perhaps in order to elicit humorous or
undeveloped (possibly nave) aspects of his characters in relation to their circumstances. Perhaps
Joyce even attempts to present Stephen Dedaluss intelligence as superior to his peers by drawing
attention to the intellectual discrepancies present in other characters (namely in confusing
similarly sounding words with an historical work conceived by Julius Caesar).
Novel: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
http://genius.com/2649709- According to the this source which is a literary forum, the Calico
Belly as presented in the text in fact refers to the Bello Gallico or the Gallic Wars. Stephen,
in his state of unintentional confusion, mistakes these words for their similar sounds, an
elementary error perhaps. This seemingly minute mishap in Stephens mind proves nevertheless
significant to the readers understanding of the world through Stephens perspective which Joyce
so forcefully tries to achieve in his novel. Through Stephens confusion, Joyce effectively
conveys Stephens young age and nave habits which play a crucial role in demonstrating that
that his young protagonist is still growing and developing as the novel progresses. Joyce also
seems to incite this process takes a considerable amount of time. (Date of Access: October 6,
2015).
http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/caesar-index.html - Reference is an historical site which
provides a brief biography of the notable Roman general and statesman Julius Caesar. Born on
July 12 100 BC in Rome, Caesar became a dominant political figure as well as military strategist
in Rome as well as in various regions across Europe and even Egypt. Caesar quickly established

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one of the most dominant military campaigns across Europe, wiping out any nations or tribes that
stood in the way of his militaristic endeavors. More notably, during the Battle of Alesia which
was part of the Gallic Wars, Caesar was eventually able to throw the opposing army into a state
of fear and confusion so much that when they attempted to retreat, Caesars German mercenary
horseman slaughtered them. Caesar later wrote an in- depth account about his numerous
experiences while engaged in the Gallic Wars hence, the now historical document, Commentarii
de Bello Gallico. (Date of Access: October 6, 2015)
http://www.britannica.com/event/Gallic-Wars - The encyclopdia Britannica provides a brief
account of the Gallic Wars in which Julius Caesar waged a vast military campaign against Gaul
which was mainly occupied by a Celtic people who were known as Gauls. This ancient region
was comprised of what is currently considered to be parts of Italy, Germany, and Belgium.
Celtic society was purely agricultural and was divided in order to distinguish among the various
tribes. The Gallic wars lasted from 58-50 BCE in which Caesar and his army reigned victorious
over the Gallic leader, Vercingetorix who viciously rebelled against Roman occupation (Date of
Access: October 7, 2015).
http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/curriculum/do/document?urn=urn:bigchalk:US%3BBCLib
%3Bdocument%3B45753579- Reference found through Pro Quest database from a scholarly
journal. Source was composed by Jonathan Mulrooney on the subject of Joyces portrayal of his
young protagonist, Stephen Dedalus as an artist seeking to express himself in an oppressive Irish
culture. As Joyces novel proliferates, Stephens search to express himself becomes increasingly
evident as Joyce shifts the narrative point of view in the final part of the novel to the first person.
Initially, Joyce limits the readers perspective through Stephens thoughts and experiences from
the point of view of his family and peers. This is obvious namely in the first chapter of the novel
in which the reader is heavily exposed to religious arguments between Stephens family members
as well as the taunting expressions from his peers that leave young Stephen embarrassed and
confused. Stephens unpleasant encounter between a teacher who believed Stephen to be idle
and attempting to abandon his studies is another instance in which the reader only understands
Stephen in congruence to his relationship with those around him. The title of this literary
criticism, Stephen Dedalus and the Politics of Confession, also acknowledges Stephens
internal conflicts namely concerning the Catholic religion. Mulrooney incites that Joyce
believed his homeland of Ireland to have had misplaced zeal of twentieth- century Irish
nationalism. In this scholarly criticism, Mulrooney essentially concludes that unlike Stephen
who rejects ideas of Irish nationalism through self- centered lyricism, Joyce in his novel,
Portrait exposes the great ever- expanding potential present in Irish culture (Date of Access:
October 8, 2015).
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/gallicwars/a/072007DebelGall.htm- The author of this source,
N.S. Gill discusses Julius Caesars narrative on the Gallic Wars (currently considered
Commentarri de Bello Gallico, although Caesar did not provide a specific title for this work).

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Caesar himself considered what he wrote regarding the Gallic Wars as commentaries, hence
the currently adopted title. Similar to Joyce throughout Portrait of an Artist, Caesar adopts the
third person narrative point of view in describing his observations upon his experience in the
Gallic Wars. It should also be noted that both Joyce and Caesar specifically adopt a third person
limited perspective as the reader is limited to the events in relation to Stephens feelings toward
them and Caesars audience is limited the generals personal bias towards the events in which he
is describing. In relation to Caesars account, understanding his work remains difficult even
amongst Latin students since Caesar mainly discusses advanced military stratagems that solely
rely on the readers knowledge of military tactics. It is also believed that Caesar exaggerated
certain details of the war such as the size of the Gallic armies in order to appear more politically
powerful. Interestingly enough, both Stephen of the novel and Julius Caesar adopt a diary or
journalistic style in their writings (Date of Access: October 8, 2015).
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/james-joyce - James Joyce is considered to be one of the
greatest novelists of 20th century literature. Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1882, Joyce was the
author of several short stories, novels, and poems. Despite his dynamic writing style exemplified
in his various works of literature, Joyce is best remembered as a novelist. He composed his short
story collection entitled Dubliners which was first published in 1914. Joyces most successful
novels include A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Published in 1916), Ulysses (1922), and
Finnegans Wake (1939). His poetic pieces include Chamber Music (1907), and Pomes
Penyeach (1927). Joyce eventually married Nora Barnacle after having a few children with her.
Interestingly, Joyces wife and children had to flee to South France due to the proliferation of the
Nazi regime in Europe. Joyce is known for his modernist style of writing, characteristic of his
novels such as in Portrait in which Joyce addresses the idea of self- expression and its
correlation to artistic beauty through the rebellious life of Stephen Dedalus. The novel provides
a self-portrait of James Joyce as a young man which provides further insight into his artistic
beliefs centered around his quest to depart from Irish culture (Or does he truly wish to separate
from Irish culture and instead seeks to expose its growing potential namely in artistic form?)
(Date of Access: October 9, 2015).
http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/gallic.1.1.html - Website provides the collection of eight books
from Caesars Commentarii de Bello Gallico, each book divided into various chapters. Each
book supposedly represents the eight years of total war that was considered the Gallic Wars. The
site is an educational archive provided by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). It
provides all of Caesars official writing regarding his firsthand account of the Gallic Wars which
was waged against a group of Germanic tribes (Which is already cited above). Upon reading
chapter 1 of Book 1 from Caesars commentary on the Gallic Wars, the fluency of Caesars
writing was immediately realized. Julius Caesar was not solely known as a Roman statesman
and general, but an eloquent orator as this becomes immediately evident as his firsthand account
of the war commences. In chapter 1, Caesar begins his commentary by describing the scenery of
the battlefield as well as the different characteristics and unique mannerisms that separate one

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tribe of people from another. For instance, Caesar even comments on the courage of a particular
tribe over another: Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are furthest from the
civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants least frequently resort to them, and
import those things which tend to effeminate the mind; and they are the nearest to the Germans,
who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom they are continually waging war; for which reason the
Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in valor, as they contend with the Germans in almost
daily battles This excerpt from Caesars Commentarri de Bello Gallico immediately
showcases Caesars great attention to meticulous details as well as his extensive knowledge on
the behavior and habits of his enemies. Caesars fluent and coherent writing style is also evident
as he smoothly introduces his observations to the reader in such a way that they are almost
unaware a war is about to take place thus, making Caesars writings that of an artist (Date of
Access: October 9, 2015).
http://www.historyireland.com/pre-norman-history/hibernia-romana-ireland-the-roman-empire/ This fascinating piece of information is presented by Colin Adams, a postgraduate student of
history at the University of Oxford. Adams discusses the historical controversy over whether the
Romans, more specifically under Julius Caesars rule, ever invaded Ireland which was
undoubtedly known by the Romans but, seemed to have been purposefully ignored due to the
lack of economic prosperity and wide array of resources. In other words, it is believed that
Ireland provided no particular interest to the Romans, but instead was subjected to Roman
influence through trading. Adams states, The astonishing find of a Roman fort at Drumanagh
fifteen miles north of Dublin would seem at first sight to show that there was an invasion.
However, Adams quickly discredits the implication made by this claim due to the fact that there
were absolutely no excavations conducted at the sight. He continues by addressing the fact that
the Romans did not necessarily invade every civilization they came in contact with, but instead
influenced numerous civilizations through trading and other interactions as stated previously.
However, Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic Wars addressed the island of Ireland
as well as other ancient writers. Romans in general viewed the Irish as a savage group of people
who ironically possessed violent inclinations. Additionally, although solely based upon a belief
and no actual witnesses, it was believed that the Irish practice of sex between relatives as well as
their participation in cannibalism made them a particularly savage race, at-least in the eyes of the
Romans. Despite the mentioning of these interactions and the obvious geographical knowledge
that the Romans possessed regarding Ireland, there is very little evidence to suggest that Ireland
was ever invaded by Rome. Of course, during the period of Roman imperialism, Ireland was
then known as Hibernia, the Latin name given to the island of Ireland (Date of Access: October
10, 2015).
http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar_t01.htm- Historical site provides an excerpt from a
piece written by Plutarch of Chaeronea entitled Life of Julius Caesar. This portion of Plutarchs
writing provides an account in which Julius Caesar was held captive by Cilician pirates who
were notorious for their piracy in the Mediterranean sea. According to Plutarch, the pirates had

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been clearly unaware as to who they had captured as they demanded twenty talents from Julius
Caesar. Upon this request, Caesar reportedly burst out into a fit of laughter, scoffing at the
pirates demand. He then offered them instead, fifty talents. Being the influential leader that he
was, Caesar treated the pirates as if they were the captives and he were their superior which he
would later prove that he was. For instance, during the thirty eight days of Caesars captivity, he
acted strangely nonchalant about the situation and even told the pirates to be quite when it was
time to sleep. Caesars strong personality and iron will were thus, evident in such a circumstance
that would simply be frightful for the average man. However, Caesar was anything but average.
The pirates were quite amazed at Caesars freedom of speech and boyish playfulness. Most
interesting of all, while still a captive by these pirates, Caesar often joked about how he would
have them crucified upon his release. Once Caesars ransom was paid and he was set free,
Caesar and his men immediately set out to capture the pirates. Upon doing so, Caesar eventually
crucified the lot of them. It seems Julius Caesar had a rather cruel sense of humor (Date of
Access: October 10, 2015).

Pictures
http://dailyreckoning.com/dr-content/uploads/2013/06/JuliusCaesar.jpg- Depicts a statue of
Roman Statesman Julius Caesar which was used to sketch an image of him (Date of Access:
October 11, 2015).
http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/ekmps/shops/boardgameguru/images/caesar-s-gallic-war3905-p.jpg- Image is a painting of Vercingetorix and Julius Caesar during the Gallic Wars (Date
of Access: October 11, 2015)
http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/caesar-and-vercingetorix-granger.jpgBlack and white sketch image shows Vercingetorix surrendering to Caesar during the Gallic
Wars (Date of Access: October 12, 2015).
http://www.travellingbears.dk/bears/_images/Ireland2.gif -Image represents a map of Ireland
and was used to draw the map of Ireland with almost identical colors (Date of Access: October
12, 2015).

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