James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was born in a wealthy suburb of Ireland just south of Dublin on February 2, 1882. The Joyce family was considered of the upper class and had blood lines that could be traced back to old Irish nobility in the country. Their "noble" blood did not prove to be enough to maintain their social status, the family's position in society steadily declined as James Joyce aged, and he was constantly moving to more modest residences, a main cause of this was due to James' father, John Joyce, who had problems with unemployment. John Joyce was an Irish Catholic who had issues with alcohol and managing money. James Joyce's father was considered a patriot, and his influences are very evident in Joyce's work, especially A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses. In 1888 a young Joyce was sent to what was considered one of...