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Who was Stephen in the Bible?

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Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: pentecost, chapters 3-7: in jerusalem, chapters 8-12: judea & samaria, chapters 13-20: the missionary journeys, chapters 21-28: paul's witness spreads to rome.

Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’

4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ 8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.

11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.

17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’ 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.

20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family. 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’

27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.

30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.

37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.

39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ 41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

“ ‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings

forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?

43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek

and the star of your god Rephan,

the idols you made to worship.

Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon.

44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

49 “ ‘Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me?

says the Lord.

Or where will my resting place be?

50 Has not my hand made all these things?’

51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen in the Bible Was the First Christian Martyr

Meet Stephen, Early Church Deacon

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In the way he lived and died, Stephen catapulted the early Christian church from its local Jerusalem roots to a cause that spread across the entire world. The Bible says that Stephen spoke with such spiritual wisdom that his Jewish opponents were unable to refute him (Acts 6:10).

Stephen in the Bible

• Known for : Stephen was a Hellenist Jew and one of seven men ordained as deacons in the early church. He was also the first Christian martyr, stoned to death for preaching that Jesus was the Christ.
• Bible References: Stephen's story is told in chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Acts. He is also mentioned in Acts 8:2, 11:19, and 22:20.
• Accomplishments: Stephen, whose name means "crown," was a bold evangelist who was not afraid to preach the gospel despite dangerous opposition. His courage came from the Holy Spirit. While facing death, he was rewarded with a heavenly vision of Jesus himself.
• Strengths : Stephen was well-educated in the history of God's plan of salvation and how Jesus Christ fit into it as the Messiah. He was truthful and brave. Luke described him as "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" and "full of grace and power."

Little is known about Stephen in the Bible before he was ordained a deacon in the young church, as described in Acts 6:1-6 . Although he was just one of seven men chosen to make sure food was fairly distributed to the Grecian widows, Stephen soon began to stand out:

Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. (Acts 6:8, NIV )

Exactly what those wonders and miracles were, we are not told, but Stephen was empowered to do them by the Holy Spirit . His name suggests he was a Hellenistic Jew who spoke and preached in Greek, one of the common languages in Israel in that day.

Members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen argued with Stephen. Scholars think these men were freed slaves from various parts of the Roman empire. As devout Jews, they would have been horrified at Stephen's claim that Jesus Christ was the much-awaited Messiah.  

That idea threatened long-held beliefs. It meant Christianity was not just another Jewish sect but something entirely different: a New Covenant from God, replacing the Old.

First Christian Martyr

This revolutionary message got Stephen hauled before the Sanhedrin , the same Jewish council that had condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy . When Stephen preached an impassioned defense of Christianity, a mob dragged him outside the city and stoned him.

Stephen had a vision of Jesus and said he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. That was the only time in the New Testament anyone other than Jesus himself called him the Son of Man. Before he died, Stephen said two things very similar to Jesus' last words from the cross :

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them." ( Acts 7:59-60, NIV)

But Stephen's influence was even stronger after his death. A young man watching the murder was Saul of Tarsus. He held the coats of those who stoned Stephen to death and saw the victorious way Stephen died. Not too long after, Saul would be converted by Jesus and become the great Christian missionary and apostle Paul . Ironically, Paul's fire for Christ would mirror Stephen's.

Before he converted, however, Saul would persecute other Christians in the name of the Sanhedrin, causing early church members to flee Jerusalem, taking the gospel wherever they went. Thus, Stephen's execution sparked the spread of Christianity.

Life Lessons

The Holy Spirit equips believers to do things they could not humanly do. Stephen was a gifted preacher, but the text shows God gave him wisdom and courage.

What seems like a tragedy can somehow be part of God's great plan. Stephen's death had the unexpected consequence of forcing Christians to flee persecution in Jerusalem. The gospel spread far and wide as a result.

As in Stephens's case, the full impact of our lives may not be felt until decades after our death. God's work is constantly unfolding and goes forth on his timetable.

Points of Interest

• Stephen's martyrdom was a foretaste of what was to come. The Roman Empire persecuted members of The Way, as early Christianity was called, for the next 300 years, finally ending with the conversion of Emperor Constantine I, who adopted the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., allowing Christians religious freedom.
• Bible scholars are divided on Stephen's vision of Jesus standing by his throne. Typically Jesus was described as sitting on his heavenly throne, indicating his work was finished. Some commentators suggest this means Christ's work was not yet done, while others say Jesus stood to welcome Stephen into heaven.

Acts 6:5 They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. (NIV) Acts 7:48-49 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be?'" (NIV) Acts 7:55-56 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (NIV)

• The New Unger's Bible Dictionary , Merrill F. Unger.
• Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary , Trent C. Butler, general editor.
• The New Compact Bible Dictionary , T. Alton Bryant, editor.
• Stephen. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 1533).
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Who Was St. Stephen and Why Did He Die?

In Acts, after the early church begins to convert thousands of people to the Christian faith in a matter of days, we meet for a brief time a man by the name of Stephen. He has a short introduction in Acts 6:5 and becomes the first martyr for the Christian faith just one chapter later.

Who was this man who has such a brief mention? Why did Stephen become the first martyr for the Christian faith, and what can the church today learn about this saint from the first century?

First of all, who was Stephen?

Although we don’t have much information presented about Stephen in the sixth chapter of Acts, we can derive the following from the text provided.

Acts 6:1-7:  As the Apostles’ numbers grew, because of the size, certain people became overlooked, such as the Gentile widows (opposed to the Hebraic widows). Seeing a need to delegate roles, the disciples elected the first seven deacons known to the Christian faith. These deacons had to “be full of wisdom and the Spirit.” These deacons would take charge of the distribution of food to the widows, among other duties. The disciples chose Stephen, and six others, and prayed over them as they began their ministry.

Acts 6:8:  Stephen performs various wonders and signs. Throughout the history of the early church, various charismatic gifts such as healing, belonged to several followers of Christ.

He was likely Jewish: Jews, from an early age, memorized portions of the Old Testament. They had a strong knowledge of the Scriptures, as seen in Stephen’s speech featured in Acts 7 .

He also had Hellenistic roots: This article  from Encyclopedia Britannica says he was a Hellenistic Jew (a foreign-born Jew), which would make sense why the apostles would place him in charge of the distribution of food to the Hellenistic widows. The article above also shows how his Hellenistic and Hebrew upbringing influenced the Apology-like speech he gives to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council. Many Jews grew up outside of Jerusalem due to an event known as the Diaspora.

Why did the Jews want to kill Stephen?

As seen during Jesus’ ministry, whenever someone performs signs in God’s name, opposition often arises. For instance, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the Jews seek to kill Lazarus as to dispose of the evidence of God’s work ( John 12:9-11 ).

When Stephen performs great signs and wonders, he draws opposition from a group called the Synagogue of the Freedmen.

This group of Alexandrians and Cyrenians  argue with Stephen, but when they cannot create counterarguments to Stephen’s wise retorts, they produce false witnesses who claim Stephen had blasphemed in order to dispose of him and the evidence of God’s work in him.

In a similar fashion to Socrates on trial, Stephen gives a point-by-point rendering of the Old Testament and how it related to Jesus’ work through his death and resurrection . He uses very Jewish examples, but his argument follows a Greek-like argument, similar to the ones used by Plato and Socrates.

He shows how Israelites in the Old Testament failed to see past their stubbornness and turned away from God and persecuted and killed anyone who spoke God’s word (several of the prophets were martyred). In the same way, the Jews had refused to listen to Jesus during his ministry on earth and, instead, killed him when they could no longer stand his words.

This enrages the members of the Sanhedrin, and they order Stephen’s death by stoning—a practice used in the Old Testament to put to death blasphemers and other doers of great acts of evil.

Just before they drag Stephen out of the city to be stoned, he receives a vision of heaven where he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

What does Saint Stephens life and death mean for Christians today?

It may seem odd that a man who receives mention and dies within two chapters of the Bible has a great impact on believers today, but Christians can glean a lot of information from this saint.

First, Stephen shows believers they can have a powerful impact for the kingdom, if even for a short period of time. Although Scripture doesn’t specify how long Stephen’s ministry lasted, it appears he receives opposition very soon into the journey.

Second, no matter where we come from, God can use our past to shape our testimony and witness.

Stephen had both a Hellenistic and Jewish background. This helped him to preach to multiple audiences. He showed to the Sanhedrin he had an immense knowledge of the Scriptures, and through his Greek rhetoric, he had the apologetic power of a speaker like Apollos ( Acts 18:24 ).

We see multiple examples throughout Scripture of how God uses one’s upbringing to shape their testimony and how they speak to various audiences. For instance, Paul was a Jew with a Roman citizenship. This allowed him to speak to both Jewish and Gentile audiences.

Third, and most importantly, Stephen shows us the cost of faith. Preachers often will speak about Stephen because he was the first Christian to die for his beliefs. Whether we live in a country full of religious freedoms or in a restricted area, we may find ourselves in situations where we have the choice to renounce our faith or die for it.

Through Stephen’s example, we can learn to speak boldly for our faith, and know that our lives here on earth cannot compare with the joys we’ll experience in heaven. Man can only kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons-Public Domain/Annibale Carracci

Hope Bolinger  is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and graduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 400 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column "Hope's Hacks," tips and tricks to avoid writer's block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young's blog, which receives 63,000+ monthly hits. Her modern-day Daniel, “ Blaze ,” (Illuminate YA) released in June, and the sequel “Den” releases July 2020. Find out more about her here .

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The Theory of Everything: History vs. Hollywood

Has the real stephen hawking seen the movie.

Yes. Following the screening of The Theory of Everything at the Toronto Film Festival in early September 2014, director James Marsh and the cast answered questions during an audience Q&A. They explained that the real Stephen Hawking had already seen the movie, saying that a nurse wiped a tear from his cheek as the lights came up at his screening. Hawking subsequently gave the filmmakers license to use the audio produced by his trademark speech synthesizer. -Variety.com "When he watched it, he offered his own voice and it really does give the movie a lift," says screenwriter/producer Anthony McCarten. "It feels like Stephen Hawking is performing in the movie. I could never have anticipated that but it was extremely generous on his part." -Deadline.com The real Stephen and Jane Hawking (left) in the mid-1960s. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones (right) portray Stephen and Jane Hawking in The Theory of Everything movie.

Does the real Stephen Hawking feel the movie is accurate?

In researching The Theory of Everything true story, we discovered that the real Stephen Hawking has conveyed his approval of the movie by calling it "broadly true" ( Variety.com ). "I thought Eddie Redmayne portrayed me very well," remarked Stephen. "At times, I thought he was me. ... Felicity made a very charming Jane. The film was surprisingly honest about our marriage and reflects our struggle to bring up three children, despite my disability" ( The Theory of Everything Featurette ).

Was Stephen Hawking's family really as normal as they are portrayed to be in the movie?

No. Though the Hawkings are portrayed to be a more or less typical family in The Theory of Everything movie, they were actually quite the opposite. The family vehicle was an old London taxi. They kept bees in their basement, and they often ate dinner in silence, with each member of the family focused on the current book they were reading ( Biography.com ). Stephen himself describes his family as being "considered eccentric" by outsiders. Like in the movie, Stephen's dad Frank did make homemade wine. Contrary to the film implying the wine was bad, the real Jane Hawking says it was quite good ( Travelling to Infinity ). John McClenahan, a school friend of Stephen, says that the Hawking house "was a less conventional house, one in which the children had a great deal of freedom. And I remember being quite gobsmacked by the conversation over lunch. It was about subjects which were never talked about in my house - sex, homosexuality, arguments for and against abortion, and various other subjects that were quite unusual." Stephen says that in becoming a teenager, "my parents taught me to always question things and think big." -Hawking Documentary

Was Stephen Hawking really a member of the Oxford rowing team?

Yes. The Theory of Everything true story confirms that Hawking was a coxswain on the Oxford rowing team. A coxswain does not row but rather controls the stroke rate and steering. The position suited his less than athletic physique. It was during his time on the rowing team that the first signs of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) began to show, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. "As my student days were in full swing, I was gradually becoming aware that all was not well," says Stephen. "During my final year at Oxford, I had noticed that I was getting rather clumsy in my movements..." -Hawking Documentary Stephen Hawking (top, right) served as a coxswain on the Oxford rowing team (Oxford University Boat Club) in the early 1960s. Bottom: Actor Eddie Redmayne calls the shots as Hawking in The Theory of Everything movie.

How did Stephen Hawking meet Jane Wilde?

Jane Wilde, Stephen's future wife, had been a literature undergraduate and a friend of his sister. They met shortly after he began his doctorate at Cambridge in 1963. It was at a New Year's party like in the movie. Though they had met, Stephen and Jane's relationship didn't take root until after he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (ALS). The couple married in 1965. -Biography.com "Oh, he was great fun," says Jane. "He was eccentric. I was really drawn to his very wide smile and his beautiful grey eyes, and I think that's what made me fall in love with him." -Hawking Documentary

Was Stephen Hawking diagnosed with ALS after a fall?

Not exactly. Like in the movie, Hawking was a doctoral student in 1963 Cambridge when he fell crumpled onto Trinity Hall's flagstones, which was one of at least two significant tumbles. Another fall on a train in Germany knocked out his front teeth, which had to be replaced. "...I fell over once or twice for no apparent reason," says Stephen, "but then one evening, late at night, something more serious happened." A stumble had sent Stephen's body all the way down a flight of stairs. He lost consciousness and when he woke he couldn't remember who or where he was. Yet, the incident still wasn't enough for Stephen to visit a doctor. "When I look back at that fall, I didn't realize at the time, it was a warning sign of things to come, but I recovered and soon had more pressing things on my mind." Later, while home from Cambridge over Christmas break, his unsteadiness on his feet, slurred speech, and other symptoms had progressed too far for him to conceal from his family, whom he didn't want to worry. His father insisted that Stephen see a doctor. His father and his sister Mary took him to the family physician, who in turn sent him to see a specialist in London. -Hawking Documentary

Did doctors really tell Stephen that he had only two years to live?

Yes. "The prognosis was not good," says Stephen. "I was given two to three years to live." This prognosis is normal for people suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) , because most people who have ALS succumb to respiratory failure within the first three years after being diagnosed. -Hawking Documentary Stephen Hawking (right) as a young man, prior to the ALS diagnosis. Eddie Redmayne (left) as Hawking in The Theory of Everything movie.

How long did Stephen spend in the hospital during his diagnosis?

Stephen was diagnosed at St Bartholomew's Hospital (Barts) in London. "I was in hospital for two weeks and had a wide range of unpleasant tests," recalls Stephen. "They took a muscle sample from my arm and stuck electrodes into me, then they injected some liquid into my spine and took x-rays. Eventually, I was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as motor neuron disease or ALS." -Hawking Documentary

Did Jane really find out that Stephen had been diagnosed with ALS from his friend, Brian?

No. In the movie, Jane learns that Stephen has motor neuron disease (also known as ALS) from his friend, Brian. In real life, Jane found out by accident from her friends, who happened to mention it. Jane and Stephen weren't dating yet. "I was stunned," says Jane. "I had only just met Stephen and for all his eccentricity I liked him." -Travelling to Infinity

What made Stephen Hawking want to continue living after his seemingly terminal diagnosis?

Hawking has said that as long as he has life, he has hope and that no matter how bleak things might seem, there is always something that a person can succeed at. In addition to deciding to embrace his time left, Hawking credits a few other things in helping him not to become completely despondent. First, while he was still in the hospital following his diagnosis, he shared a room with a leukemia patient. Observing his roommate's situation, Hawking believed that his own was more tolerable. Second, shortly after he was discharged from the hospital, he had a nightmare that he was going to be executed. It helped him to realize the things he still wanted to do with his life. Of course, the most significant motivation for wanting to continue living was Jane Wilde, the young languages undergraduate with whom Stephen Hawking was falling in love and would eventually marry in 1965. "Falling in love gave me something to live for," Stephen said in the 2013 documentary Hawking . "Jane was beautiful and gentle, and seemingly undaunted by the harsh reality of my illness." "I was bored with life before my illness," he said. "There had not seemed to be anything worth doing." It wasn't until he was faced with the realization that his life could end before he got his Ph.D. that he put much more effort into his work and research. Stephen also credits his desire to provide for Jane as a motivating factor to get his Ph.D. -Biography.com The real Stephen and Jane Hawking on their wedding day in 1965 (right). Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones portray the couple on their wedding day in the movie (left).

Did Jane Wilde enter the marriage believing that she would quickly become a widow?

"Yes, but at that stage I did not want to think about that," says Jane. "Also, we had this very strong sense at the time that our generation lived anyway under this most awful nuclear cloud - that with a four-minute warning the world itself could likely end. That made us feel above all that we had to do our bit, that we had to follow an idealistic course in life. That may seem naive now, but that was exactly the spirit in which Stephen and I set out in the Sixties - to make the most of whatever gifts were given to us." -The Observer

Where does "The Theory of Everything" title come from?

The true story behind The Theory of Everything reveals that the movie's title refers to Hawking's tireless search to find a single universal equation for all existence. More specifically, it is a theory in physics that unites the four fundamental forces of nature: the strong force, the weak force, gravity and the electromagnetic force. Physicist Sir Roger Penrose came up with the theory that when a star collapses under the force of its own gravity, it would collapse to a singular point of infinite density where time itself would come to a stop. Penrose called it a singularity, the heart of a black hole. "I worked relentlessly to see if I could apply the notion of a singularity to the entire universe," says Stephen. Then Hawking realized that by rewinding time, he could take the universe back to a singularity as well. "Here, time stops. You've reached the true beginning of everything. There is no previous time in which the universe could have had a cause. It spontaneously created itself in the Big Bang." "I had controversially shown the laws of nature suggest there is no need for a creator or God. The universe just came into existence all by itself." -Hawking Documentary

How soon after his diagnosis was Stephen Hawking confined to a wheelchair?

Although the effects of his disease had begun to slow down, by 1969 his physical control over his body had been reduced to the point that he needed a wheelchair. This was roughly six years after his diagnosis, and it was a fate that he accepted reluctantly. -Biography.com "One of the great battles was getting Stephen to use a wheelchair," says his former wife Jane. "I'd be going out with Stephen on one arm, carrying the baby in the other, and the toddler running alongside. Well it was hopeless because the toddler would run off and I would be unable to chase. So that kind of thing made life rather impossible." -The Observer

Did Stephen's parents really buy a country cottage that wasn't wheelchair friendly?

Yes. Like in the movie, Stephen's parents bought a country cottage and invited Stephen and Jane for a visit. They failed to warn them about the hill and challenging set of stairs. "I was upset and baffled," Jane wrote in her memoir of the visit. "It seemed that the Hawkings considered themselves free of all basic responsibility for Stephen."

Did Stephen's mother ask Jane which man was the father of their third son, Timothy?

Yes, curious if Jonathan Hellyer Jones was the father, Isobel Hawking, Stephen's mother, flat-out asked Jane which man was the father. Unlike the movie, it didn't happen at a party to celebrate Timothy's birth. It happened when Jane and Isobel were alone with the baby. Jane told her it could only be Stephen's, but Isobel didn't hesitate to express her true feelings. "We have never really liked you," she told Jane. "You do not fit into our family." -Traveling to Infinity The real Stephen Hawking (right) holds his child in the late 1960s. Left: Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and child in The Theory of Everything movie.

What is "Hawking Radiation"?

Hawking Radiation was discovered by Stephen Hawking in 1974 and was reluctantly accepted by the physics world. Contrary to all previous theories on black holes, Hawking discovered that black holes must emit particles like a hot body losing heat. "This evaporation meant in theory a black hole could eventually disappear," says Stephen. -Hawking Documentary

To what degree was physical intimacy a part of Stephen and Jane Hawking's marriage?

One thing that the movie doesn't examine is the challenge of physical intimacy given Stephen Hawking's deteriorating condition. Though the filmmakers might have considered it inappropriate to depict onscreen, Jane Hawking discusses the matter in her book Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen , which provided the basis for the movie. Jane described the absence of physical intimacy with Stephen as "a deep hole in my own life" that she had no one to talk to about. In 1976, Jane's friend Thelma Thatcher brought up the subject to Jane by saying, "I simply can't imagine how you survive without a proper sex life." "I myself did not know the answer to her question," writes Jane, "but my sense of loyalty to Stephen forbade any open discussion of that topic, which for him was as taboo a subject as his illness."

Did Jane Hawking really offer free room-and-board at their home to students who would help care for her husband?

Yes. According to The Theory of Everything true story, this began in 1974 with the Ph.D. students who traveled to the U.S. with Stephen and his family during his one-year stint as a guest lecturer at Caltech. It continued upon Stephen's return to Cambridge. The trip is not included in the movie. Although, we do see students taking him to the opera. Jane had been raising three children in addition to caring for her husband. "I had two tiny babies," says Jane. "I was running the home and looking after Stephen full time: dressing, bathing, and he refused to have any help with that other than from me" ( The Observer ).

When did Stephen Hawking lose the use of his voice?

In the mid-1970s, Stephen Hawking's speech had become slurred to the point that only those who spent a considerable amount of time with him could understand him. In 1985, he underwent a tracheotomy as part of his treatment for the pneumonia that nearly claimed his life. Instead, the procedure claimed what was left of his voice. A California computer programmer named Walt Woltosz took notice of his situation and introduced Hawking to speaking software that he had developed, which could be directed by eye or head movement. At first, Hawking, who still had use of his fingers, interacted with the program via a clicker. Today, Hawking directs the program via a sensor attached to a cheek muscle. -Biography.com The real Jane Hawking and her husband Stephen in the 1980s (right) and their onscreen counterparts, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, in the movie (left).

Was Jane really camping with Jonathan when she found out Stephen was put on life support?

Yes. This part of the movie is mostly in line with the true story. Stephen and Jane often took separate trips. Jane was camping with Jonathan Hellyer Jones and the kids when Stephen's coughing fits worsened. Unlike the movie, Stephen was not at the opera. He was taken to a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland and was diagnosed with pneumonia. He ended up on life support. Jane, Jonathan and the kids had actually planned on meeting Stephen in Geneva all along, where they were going to go to the opera together. Upon learning what had happened, Jane hurried to the hospital in Geneva to be at his side. -Travelling to Infinity

Did Stephen Hawking nearly die from pneumonia?

Yes. A 1985 battle with pneumonia left Stephen Hawking on life support. Stephen's wife Jane refused to disconnect him. "Slowly the drugs worked," says Stephen, "though a small incision in my throat robbed me of my ability to talk." He recovered, but the family subsequently enlisted 24-hour nursing at home. -Daily Mail Online

Did Stephen Hawking ever acknowledge his illness?

No. "All along I suppose I tried to imagine his feelings," says former wife Jane Hawking, "because he would never ever talk about how he felt - he would never mention his illness. It was as if it did not exist" ( The Observer ). Stephen's sister Mary also felt that he never accepted his condition emotionally, pointing out that he never discussed it with her or his parents either ( Hawking Documentary ).

How long were Stephen and Jane Hawking married?

The real Stephen and Jane Hawking were married for approximately thirty years, from 1965 to 1995 (Hawking left Jane for his nurse, Elaine Mason, in 1990, with the divorce not becoming official until 1995). Stephen and Jane share three children together: Robert, Lucy and Timothy. In speaking about the 2004 BBC Hawking TV movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Jane said, "That is what should be most important about the film. That sense we had that, despite it all, everything was going to be possible. That Stephen was going to do his physics, and we were going to raise a wonderful family and have a nice house and live happily every after." -The Observer Jane Hawking in the 2013 documentary Hawking (left) and in the 1960s on a boat ride with Stephen.

Why did Stephen and Jane Hawking divorce?

Stephen's wife says that her husband's disease "forced us into our own little black hole." For a long time, Stephen was averse to outside help and relied on Jane for his care, while at the same time Jane was raising their three children. In later years, Stephen said that he "was never able to understand the strain it put on Jane." In Stephen Hawking's memoir My Brief History , he describes his wife installing the choirmaster, Jonathan Hellyer Jones, in their apartment following the birth of their third child in 1979. Hawking implies that his wife was prepping a new husband since no one expected Hawking to live much longer. However, after making it to 1990, Hawking had grown upset over his wife's closeness to Jones. Frustrated, Hawking moved into another house with the nurse who would become his second wife, Elaine Mason. In the end, it's apparent that it wasn't just Stephen Hawking's disease that put a strain on his marriage to Jane. After publishing A Brief History of Time , the book's runaway success went to Stephen's head, at least according to Jane, who believed that her marriage was "engulfed and swept away by the great wave of fame and fortune," with her husband behaving like "an all-powerful emperor." To make matters worse, Stephen's leanings toward atheism intensified, something he investigated further in his book The Grand Design . Jane, whose Catholic beliefs had helped her through the toughest aspects of her husband's disease, was now watching her husband attempt to scientifically disprove her faith. -Biography.com The real Jane Hawking and Stephen Hawking in 1974 (center). Felicity Jones (left) and Eddie Redmayne (right) portray the couple in The Theory of Everything movie.

Did Stephen Hawking leave his wife Jane for his nurse?

Yes. Stephen Hawking left his wife Jane Hawking in 1990 for one of his nurses, Elaine Mason. Stephen married Elaine in 1995, but suspicion of abuse shrouded the relationship in controversy. A former employee referred to Elaine as "controlling, manipulative and bullying." Rumors of violence and abuse were supported by Stephen's children. The pair divorced in 2006, but Stephen dismisses the allegations of abuse. Instead, he describes his marriage to Elaine as " passionate and tempestuous." -Daily Mail Online

Did Jane Hawking really marry her choirmaster?

Yes, but the two didn't meet like they do in the movie. They did meet through singing, but it was during a caroling excursion, not at the church. Like in the movie, Jonathan Hellyer Jones, portrayed by Charlie Cox, became a long-time friend of the family. After Stephen and Jane's divorce was finalized in 1995, Jane married Jonathan Hellyer Jones in 1997. Jane discovered new happiness with Jonathan and their relationship flourished. "Without Jonathan, I would have gone under," Jane wrote in her first book, Music to Move the Stars . "I would have been at the bottom of the river or in a mental institution." -The Observer

Did actor Eddie Redmayne meet Stephen Hawking?

Yes. After spending six months researching the astrophysicist's life, actor Eddie Redmayne had the chance to meet the real Stephen Hawking five days before filming began. Redmayne was so nervous that he began telling Hawking biographical details about Hawking's own life, informing him that they were both Capricorns. Hawking replied, "I'm an astronomer, not an astrologer." -Variety.com Actress Felicity Jones (left) poses with the real Stephen Hawking (center) and actor Eddie Redmayne (right).

Did actress Felicity Jones have the approval of Jane Hawking?

Yes. Actress Felicity Jones met with Stephen Hawking's former wife, Jane Hawking, who cooked her dinner and showed her slides from when she and Stephen first met. When Felicity was leaving, Jane told her that she completely trusted her. Later, after the movie was finished and Jane had seen it, she was very complimentary about it ( EW.com ). "When I saw Felicity on the screen, I thought, oh my goodness, that's me," says Jane, "because she had captured my mannerisms" ( The Theory of Everything Featurette ).

Did Jane Hawking really write a less flattering memoir in addition to the one the movie was based on?

Yes. Jane Hawking's first memoir, Music to Move the Stars , was published in 1999 and offers a more dismal account of the breakdown of her marriage to Stephen Hawking. It provided part of the basis for the 2004 BBC TV movie Hawking starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The filmmakers behind The Theory of Everything chose to instead base the movie on her second memoir, Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen (2007), which focuses on the more positive sides of their relationship.

Is it true that Stephen Hawking plans to go into space?

Yes. Stephen Hawking is already scheduled to fly to the edge of space, having been invited as one of Sir Richard Branson's pioneer Virgin Galactic space tourists. In 2007 at age 65, Hawking first experienced weightlessness on board a modified Boeing 727, which took off from the Kennedy Space Center and spent two hours over the Atlantic. "It was a moment that temporarily stripped me of my disability," says Hawking, "a feeling of true freedom." -Hawking Documentary A 65-year-old Stephen Hawking experiences weightlessness in 2007 on board ZERO-G's modified Boeing 727-200.

What do Stephen Hawking's children think of the movie?

Actor Eddie Redmayne befriended Stephen Hawking's children, most notably his youngest, Tim. Though the media reported positively about the film following the Toronto Film Festival screening, it was the family's approval that Redmayne was seeking the most. "Tim wrote a lovely text message the other day," says Redmayne, "in which he described how [he and his sister Lucy] were watching the movie, and at the end, when Stephen gets up, they both said the fact that they could see, for a second, what their father may have looked like able-bodied was incredibly moving for them. And in turn, very moving for me." -EW.com

Is Stephen Hawking's disease the same one associated with "the ice bucket challenge"?

Yes. In 2014, the fundraising effort known as "the ice bucket challenge" went viral as people began posting videos to the internet of themselves dumping buckets of ice on their heads. After performing the chilling feat, each person nominated three others to accept the challenge. By the end of August 2014, the fundraising phenomena had raised more than $100 million for ALS research. -Forbes.com "It wouldn't have been very safe for me to have done the ice bucket challenge," said Hawking on his Facebook page, "but that is why I have three beautiful children who could take the plunge for me." Watch Stephen's children take the ice bucket challenge . Stephen Hawking's children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, accept the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014 on their father's behalf.

Further explore The Theory of Everything true story below via videos that include Stephen Hawking interviews, a short biography, his TED Talks speech and his ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

• Stephen Hawking's Official Facebook Page
• The Theory of Everything Official Website at Focus Features

Will vs. Going To

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'Will' and 'going to' are mainly confused by learners since they talk about predictions and decisions. Learn more about them in this lesson.

What Is Their Main Difference?

The main difference between ' will ' and 'going to' is that 'will' talks about immediate decisions and ' going to ' talks about prior plans.

' Will ' is a modal verb used to refer to the future . It is also used to talk about willingness , possibilities , etc. Take a look at the following examples:

I will look into your case.

He will be your lawyer.

'Going to' is a phrase that is paired with the auxiliary verb ' be :' be + going + to . It is used to talk about the past and the future. It is also used to express predictions and future events. Have a look:

I was going to talk to him about his behavior.

Here, we are referring to the past.

I am going to talk to him about his behavior.

Here, we are referring to the future.

Similarities

Making predictions.

We use ' will ' and ' going to ' to make predictions about the future:

It will be foggy tomorrow.

It is going to be foggy tomorrow.

However, there is a small difference between them.

Predictions without Evidence

We use ' will ' to make predictions without any certain evidence. These predictions are only based on personal opinions and experiences. For example:

I think Hamilton will win the cup.

She insists that she will get accepted in university.

Predictions with Evidence

' Going to ' is used to make predictions with evidence. These predictions are based on actual evidence that are available at the moment. For instance:

She has a gun, she is going to kill someone.

The clouds are so grey; it is going to rain.

Expressing Decisions

Expressing immediate decisions.

We use ' will ' to express decisions that are made at the moment of speaking about the future. Take a look:

I will have a cup of coffee.

I will come with you downstairs.

Expressing Prior Plans

' Going to ' is used to talk about future actions or events that were planned in advance. Have a look:

I am going to meet my parents this weekend.

The meeting is going to be on Monday morning.

Differences

Talking about facts.

We use ' will ' to talk about events that will happen in the future and their occurrence is a general fact. For instance:

The sun will rise tomorrow.

The pink moon will appear in April.

Talking about Upcoming Events

'Going to' is used to talk about future upcoming events in the future. These events may or may not happen. For example:

The dam is going to break soon.

The blackout is going to be finished in a couple of hours.

Negation and Question

We can create negative sentences with ' going to ' and ' will .' ' Will ' is a modal verb and therefore when creating a negative sentence, we simply add ' not ' to ' will ' as illustrated below:

• Will → Will not → Won't

Here are some examples for the negation process:

I will quit my job. → I will not quit my job.

It will be cloudy tomorrow. → It won't be cloudy tomorrow.

To create a negative sentence with 'going to,' we simply add 'not' to the auxiliary verb 'be':

• is going to → is not going to → isn't going to
• are going to → are not going to → aren't going to
• was going to → was not going to → wasn't going to
• were going to → were not going to → weren't going to

For instance:

He is going to buy a new car. → He is not going to buy a new car.

They are going to attend the party. → They are not going to attend the party.

' Will ' and ' going to ' can be used to make interrogative forms:

We can make yes/no questions and wh- question with ' will .'

Yes/No Questions

To make yes/no questions. we put ' will ' at the beginning of the sentence followed by subject and the main verb . Have a look:

She will be there on my behalf. → Will she be there on my behalf?

You will redo this project. → Will you redo this project?

Wh- Questions

To create wh-questions, we begin with a wh-word such as what , when , where , who , why , and how followed by a ' will ,' the subject, and the base form of the main verb. Look at these examples to see this process in action:

You will meet them on Thursday. → When will you meet them?

Harry will tell her about the chamber. → Who will tell her about the chamber.

We have the same two ways to make questions with ' going to .'

We make yes/no questions, we put the verb 'to be' at the beginning of the sentence, the subject, and the rest of the sentence. For example:

You are going to take your friend to the zoo. → Are you going to take your friend to the zoo?

He is going to visit his parents. → Is he going to visit his parents?

To make wh- question, we start the question with the wh-word, then the verb 'to be,' the subject, ' going to ,' and the rest of the sentence. For example:

He is going to visit a doctor. → Who is he going to visit?

They are going to eat at a restaurant. → Where are they going to eat?

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12 Facts About Stephen King's Childhood That You May Not Have Known

You know Stephen King as the master of horror , a writer whose work is synonymous with fear, and the brain behind chilling books like It , The Shining , and Pet Sematary - but what drives King to create such terrifying tales? Any Stephen King trivia buff will tell you the key to his craft can be found by looking to his childhood. King grew up with his mother and brother - his father split shortly after his birth - and his life didn’t get more peachy as he matured. 

Aside from the normal hardships many single-parent families endure, King’s young life was full of horrific events that informed many of his stories. He witnessed the passing of one of his friends and lived through several other harrowing events. King has said he doesn’t believe the grim facts about his upbringing have anything to with his stories, but it’s arguable his childhood formed the basis for much of his work. 

As A Child King Saw A Friend Get Hit By A Train - But Doesn't Remember 

• Stand By Me/Columbia

At the age of four, King was playing with a friend who lived near a railroad. Although he doesn't remember the exact circumstances, he knows he saw that friend run over by a train. 

According to King, the story has stuck with him his entire life. He said:

The event occurred when I was barely four... According to Mom, I had gone off to play at a neighbor’s house - a house that was near a railroad line. About an hour after I left, I came back, she said, ‘as white as a ghost.’ I would not speak for the rest of the day. I would not tell her why I’d not waited to be picked up or phoned that I wanted to come home. I would not tell her why my chum’s mom hadn’t walked me back, but had allowed me to come home alone. It turned out that the kid I had been playing with had been run over by a freight train while playing on or crossing the tracks… My mom never knew if I had been near him when it happened. But I have no memory of the incident at all, only of having been told about it some years after the fact.

King's Father Abandoned Their Family When King Was Two Years Old

King was two years old when his father deserted his family in Portland, ME. According to biographer Lisa Rogak , Donald King "casually told his wife he was going to the store for a pack of cigarettes." He never returned. It was 1949 and King was left alone with his mother and brother, David. The loss of King's father put the family in a dire financial situation.

Not only did they spend nearly a decade constantly relocating to various apartment and relatives' homes, they never had any money. King says they "lived a virtual barter existence, practically never seeing any hard cash."

He Started Writing When He Was Six Or Seven Years Old

• MW Publications

It's no surprise to learn King, one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century, started practicing his craft at a young age. While speaking with The Paris Review King said he began writing before he was 10 years old, although it took a while for him to become a published author: 

I was about six or seven, just copying panels out of comic books and then making up my own stories. I can remember being home from school with tonsillitis and writing stories in bed to pass the time. Film was also a major influence. I loved the movies from the start. I can remember my mother taking me to Radio City Music Hall to see Bambi . Whoa, the size of the place, and the forest fire in the movie - it made a big impression. So when I started to write, I had a tendency to write in images because that was all I knew at the time.

In King's memoir , he says the first story he ever published had its title changed from "I Was a Teen-Age Grave-Robber" to "In a Half-World of Terror."

He Had A Terrifying Babysitter

• cyclonebill
• CC BY-SA 2.0

In his memoir, King recalls living in Wisconsin, where he had a babysitter named Eula "or maybe she was Beulah" 

The babysitter would tickle four-year-old King with her bare feet before hugging him, then hit him on the head hard enough to knock him down, then start tickling him again. This continued until a harrowing experience King says started with fried eggs. He writes :

One morning Eula-Beulah fried me an egg for breakfast. I ate it and asked for another one. She had a look in her that said, 'You don't dare eat another one, Stevie.' So I asked for another one. And another one. And so on. I stopped after seven, I think. 

After eating around seven eggs, young King vomited on the floor; rather than taking care of the boy, his sitter became aggressive. She hit him upside the head then locked him in a closet. When his mother came home she discovered the sitter asleep on the couch and King still in the closet covered in vomit. 

One Of King's Earliest Memories Is Pain

In King's memoir On Writing he says one of his first memories is of being stung by a wasp while playing outside at the age of two; his next memory is even more painful. 

The author recalls he was playing outside one day - pretending to be a circus strongman - when he decided to lift a cinderblock. He continues :

Unknown to me, wasps had constructed a small nest in the lower half of the cinderblock. One of them, perhaps pissed at being relocated, flew out and stung me on the ear. The pain was brilliant, like a poisonous inspiration. It was the worst pain I had ever suffered in my short life, but it only head the top spot for a few seconds. When I dropped the cinderblock on one bare foot, mashing all five toes, I forgot all about the wasp. 

King's Love Of Horror Blossomed When He Found A Box Of His Father's Stuff In The Attic

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Even though King's father ran out when the author was only two, the patriarch's belongings continued to move with the family for years. Nearly a decade after his father disappeared, King traveled into his aunt and uncle's attic to look through his absent dad's things. 

King found a bunch of books his father had left behind, and it turns out the two of them have similar taste. He said:

The box I found that day was a treasure trove of old Avon paperbacks. Avon, in those days, was the one paperback publisher committed to fantasy and weird fiction. The pick of the litter was an H.P. Lovecraft collection from 1947 called The Lurking Fear and Other Stories . I took the books out of the attic with me. That day and the next, I visited the for the first time, visited the towns of Dunwich and Arkham, Massachusetts, and was, most of all, transported by the bleak and creeping terror of 'The Color Out of Space.'

King Moved Back To Maine When He Was 11

• Warner Bros.

After spending nearly a decade moving back and forth between Wisconsin and Connecticut , the King family finally moved back to Maine around 1958 when the young writer was 11-years-old. While the family still had problems with money, King says, "Thanks to my mother, the one thing that was never in short supply, corny as it may sound to say, was love."

King Attended A One-Room School

• James Davidson

When King was about 12-years-old he started attending a one-room school in Maine that only had four other students enrolled. He says the kids ended up being the basis for "The Body," his short story that serves as the source material for Stand By Me . 

King said, "There’s a lot of stuff in ‘The Body’ that’s just simply history that’s been tarted up a little bit." He also discussed the school in an interview with The Paris Review , saying: 

I was going to this little one-room schoolhouse just up the street from my house. All the grades were in one room, and there was a sh*thouse out back, which stank. There was no library in town, but every week the state sent a big green van called the bookmobile. You could get three books from the bookmobile and they didn’t care which ones... The first books I picked out were these Ed McBain 87th Precinct novels.

He Felt Estranged From Other Children His Age

King says he never felt like he was on the same page as children his age; even though he hung out with other pre-teens they weren't all that close. He remembered:

I had friends and all that, but I often felt unhappy and different - estranged from other kids my age. I was a fat kid - ‘husky’ was the euphemism they used in the clothing store - and pretty poorly coordinated, always the last picked when we chose teams.

King Grew Up Reading Pulpy Detective Novels

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As much as King owes a debt to the stories of HP Lovecraft, he told NPR  his first literary love was the detective novel. Once a week King had the chance to check out new pulp novels, and they affected him more than his writing might suggest. King recalled : 

We lived way out in the country, and my mother would go once a week shopping, and she would go to the Red & White or the A&P to pick up her groceries. And I would immediately beat feet to Robert's Drugstore, where they had a couple of those turn-around wire racks with the hard-boiled paperbacks that usually featured a girl with scanty clothing on the front. ... The teaser line that I always loved the most was for a novel called Liz where it said, 'She hit the gutter and bounced lower.' ... I loved that.

King Didn't Think He Was Going To Live To See Age 20

As a child, King was obsessed with the dark side of life, especially the afterlife. The young writer didn't think he had much of a future, and assumed he'd expire after a couple of decades on Earth: 

I was terrified and fascinated by death... in general and my own, in particular. I was absolutely convinced that I’d never live to reach 20. I envisioned myself walking home one night along a dark, deserted street, and somebody or something would jump out of the bushes, and that would be it. 

He Loved Being Scared As A Child

• IT/Warner Bros.

The modern master of horror says he spent his early days on the hunt for things that terrified him. Whether it was a book or a radio show, he wanted something that made him sleep with his bedroom light on.  He told NPR : 

My childhood was pretty ordinary, except from a very early age I wanted to be scared. I just did. I was scared afterward. I wanted a light on because I was scared. There was something in the closet. My imagination was very active even at a young age. For instance, there was a radio program at the time called Dimension X , and my mother didn't want me to listen to that because she felt it was too scary for me, so I would creep out of bed and go to the bedroom door and crack it open. And she loved it, so apparently I got it from her, but I would listen at the door and then when the program was over I'd go back to bed and quake.

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All About Steph Curry's Parents, Dell and Sonya Curry

From their personal careers to their constant support, here's everything to know about Steph Curry’s parents

Jacqueline Weiss is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Food & Wine, Insider and Apartment Therapy.

The ties to basketball run deep in Stephen Curry 's family.

His father, Dell Curry, played in the NBA for nearly two decades. Dell first met Steph's mom, Sonya Curry, at Virginia Tech, and the two wed in 1988. They went on to welcome three children together: sons Steph and Seth and daughter Sydel . However, in August 2021, Dell and Sonya announced they were divorcing after 33 years of marriage.

" My mom is an educator , so [giving back] was a part of her job," Stephen told PEOPLE of his mother in November 2020. "It was staying late after school, mentoring, kids, talking to parents, giving them encouragement. ... She had to be selfless and sacrifice a lot of time."

The Golden State Warriors player also praised his father, saying, "My dad, every chance he got, he was doing things in the community. ... He always showed up in a meaningful way."

Both Dell and Sonya cheered on Steph at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he won his first-ever Olympic medal when the Team USA men's basketball team won the gold medal game over Team France.

Here's what to know about Steph Curry's parents, including what the basketball star has said about them over the years.

Dell and Sonya met in college

During Sonya's official recruiting visit to Virginia Tech, where she would go on to play volleyball, she spotted her future husband at men's basketball practice, according to the San Francisco Chronicle .

When Dell was drafted into the NBA a few years later, the couple moved to Utah so he could begin his professional career with the Utah Jazz.

Dell played in the NBA

From 1986 until 2002, Dell was in the NBA, where he played for five teams including the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors. Most notably, he was a star guard on the Charlotte Hornets for 10 seasons.

"I taught my boys the fundamentals of the game and fundamentals of the shot," Dell told Reuters in 2020. "They had to have their own work ethic and dedication, of course being around the game, watching myself and some of the best players in the world, my teammates, really helped to show them how the pros go about doing it. But they had to have their own self-discipline and dedication."

His accolades include being inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and retiring as the all-time leading scorer in Hornets' history. In addition to supporting his own sons in their NBA careers, the father of three has been a commentator on Charlotte Hornets television broadcasts since 2009.

They have three kids together

Sonya and Dell are parents to three children. Their first son, Steph, was born in 1988, while their second son, Seth, was born in 1990. They welcomed their daughter Sydel in 1994.

The former couple are also grandparents to six. Steph shares three children — Riley, Ryan and Canon — with his wife Ayesha Curry and Seth has two kids — Carter and Cash — with his wife Callie Rivers Currys . Sydel and husband Damion Lee's first child, a son, was born in 2021 .

Steph says he takes after his mom

Though Steph and Seth might be in the NBA just like their dad, Steph also gives credit to his mom for some of his skills.

"A lot of people say whatever defensive abilities I have, I get from her," the father of three told SF Gate in 2013. "My toughness and grittiness."

"She's a strong woman," the NBA champion added of his mother. "Growing up in an NBA household, with my dad being on the road a lot, she did a great job with me and my siblings. She deserves a lot of credit for how we turned out."

Dell and Sonya have given back to their communities

In 1995, the couple founded the Christian Montessori School of Lake Norman, a preschool in Huntersville, North Carolina. Three years later, Dell established the Dell Curry Foundation, a youth-focused organization based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"I think the parents of the house are the biggest role models. But as the main players, all the kids are watching how we go about our lives and I think giving back to community is a big part of that. I've always been a proponent of giving back and supporting your community, and I'm so proud of my sons for seeing that and continuing that tradition," Dell told Reuters.

They separated in 2021

In August 2021, Dell and Sonya confirmed to PEOPLE they were separating after 33 years of marriage . "After exploring a trial separation over the past year and much thoughtful consideration, we have decided to end our marriage. As this comes with a great deal of sadness, our focus and desire is for our family's continued happiness."

They continued, "We are so thankful for all the many blessings and successes! We stay committed to and supportive of our children and grandchildren and will remain on connected paths. We ask that our privacy be respected and prayer for our family as we move forward."

Sonya has written about raising their kids

The mother of three's memoir, Fierce Love , explores raising her family, being steadied by her faith through hard times and her passion for education.

Released in May 2022, Sonya told PEOPLE she wrote Fierce Love to " share my story, my testimony, and my experience so that others may find strength and purpose in their own journeys. I want to encourage others to pray continuously, live intentionally, love fiercely, and laugh daily!"

"My mom was always the one to challenge us growing up," Seth shared in a press release. "You can see her greatest qualities in each and every one of us."

Sydel added, "I can't wait for everyone to meet my mom through her powerful story. My mom has been such a pillar for our family."

Steph shared a special moment with Dell after winning the NBA Championship in 2022

When the Golden State Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in June 2022, Sonya and Dell were both there to embrace their son , now a four-time NBA champion, who was named MVP of the 2022 NBA Finals.

Just before the buzzer sounded to end the game, Steph was overcome with emotion and hugged his father . "I didn't even know [Dell] was down there, to be honest with you," he shared. "I saw him and I lost it, and I knew the clock was kind of running out. I just wanted to take in the moment because it was that special."

Dell checks in with Steph and Seth every week

Dell can relate to the pressures of the NBA, so he tries to touch base with his sons at least once a week.

"I watch all their games, whether live or taped, and I try to check in with them every week ," he told PEOPLE in April 2023.

But their conversations are rarely about basketball.

"[We] talk about golf and grandkids more than basketball," Dell said, adding that he says "nothing" to Steph or Seth when their teams are playing poorly. "They're grown men, they've been in the league long enough to know how this league is — you can't get too high or too low."

He continued: "That's the fun part about being a dad and a fan and knowing what they're going through as far as being an NBA player. Sometimes, you just need to talk about everything but basketball when you're having a rough patch."

Related Articles

Steven Spielberg's Parents Encouraged Him to Make a Film About Their Family

Published Nov. 22 2022, 2:30 p.m. ET

Although filmmaker Steven Spielberg had entertained the idea of directing a film about his childhood, it wasn't until two decades later that the project, titled The Fabelmans , came to fruition. The movie, which features an ensemble cast, is a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on Steven's childhood and early years as a filmmaker.

As the coming-of-age drama gears up for its nationwide theatrical release on Nov. 23, 2022, many viewers are eager to learn more about the acclaimed writer-director's actual family — specifically his parents. With that said, who are Steven Spielberg's parents? Keep reading to find out!

Paul Dano and Michelle Williams play characters based on Spielberg's parents in 'The Fabelmans.'

Who are Steven Spielberg's parents?

Steven Spielberg's parents are the late Leah Adler (née Posner) and the late Arnold Spielberg. The two welcomed their future Academy Award–winning son in Cincinnati on Dec. 18, 1946. Nearly a decade after his grand entrance into the world, the Spielberg clan relocated to New Jersey before settling in Phoenix.

Leah was born in Cincinnati on Jan. 12, 1920, and quickly fell in love with music when she learned to play the piano at just 5 years old. She went on to study to become a concert pianist at the Music Conservatory in Cincinnati ; however, she eventually gave up on her dream when she married Arnold in 1945 and moved with him to Arizona. In 1977, Leah opened a kosher restaurant in Los Angeles known as The Milky Way . She passed away in 2017 at the age of 97.

Steven Spielberg's parents, Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg

As for Arnold, he was born in Cincinnati on Feb. 6, 1917, and soon developed a passion for electricity and innovation. At just 6 years old, he turned his family's attic into a makeshift lab; nearly three years later, Arnold began building radios. By age 15, he became a ham radio operator and built his own transmitter.

In January 1942, he joined the U.S. Army and worked as a radio operator and communications chief for the 490th Bomb Squadron, aka the "Burma Bridge Busters." Once he returned from the war in 1945, Arnold married Leah and returned to school, graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in electrical engineering.

After graduating in 1949, Arnold joined RCA and worked on the company's first commercial and business computer. A few years later, he joined General Electric's computer department and helped develop the GE-200 series of mainframe computers. Arnold eventually retired in 1991, but his work continued to be recognized as he won the IEEE 2006 Computer Pioneer Award.

Arnold passed away on Aug. 25, 2020. He was 103 years old.

Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg divorced in 1966.

In 1966, Steven's parents divorced after his mother fell in love with one of Arnold's best friends; however, in an unexpected twist, Steven blamed his father for their split. After learning the truth, the filmmaker was still resentful of his father.

"It's still a mystery to me, but even though my mother was like an older sister to me, I kind of put her up on a pedestal," Steven said on 60 Minutes, per Business Insider . "And my dad was much more terrestrial, much more grounded, much more salt of the earth. And for some reason, it was easier for me to blame him than it was to someone who I was already — exalted."

Though the couple divorced, Leah and Arnold outlived their second spouses, became close friends, and together, encouraged their son to make a movie about their family. "They were actually nagging me, 'When are you going to tell that story about our family, Steve?'" he told The Hollywood Reporter . "And so this was something they were very enthusiastic about."

Steven later touched on his parents' divorce, noting that he and his sisters "constantly marvel at the fact that very few kids get their parents back after a divorce... And yet, we were able to get ours back."

The Fabelmans is now in theaters.

Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey Now: ‘She Said’ Follows Their Harvey Weinstein Investigation

'The Fabelmans' Is Loosely Based on Steven Spielberg's Life — Will It Be Streaming?

What Are the Differences Between the 1961 'West Side Story' and the 2021 Version? (SPOILERS)

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• A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Read our complete notes on the novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. Our notes cover A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man summary, characters, themes, and analysis.

Introduction

The novel is all about the life of a young man called Stephen Dedalus. The book starts with Stephen’s memories about his childhood. Stephen wants to be an artist from an early age. But there are many obstacles in his life. His family has financial problems. Also there are the limitations of his religion, his culture and his family. Stephen tries to be a good religious person for a short time but then he fails. After a long time he realizes that he wants to be free of all limitations. In the end he decides to follow his dreams and leaves his country to be a successful artist but not a priest.

Actually the novel is the mirror to James Joyce own life. Joyce attended the school with the same name in the novel. (Clongowes Wood College) The novel’s main character – Stephen’s family has financial problems because of his father. Joyce’s family had financial problems and the reason was his father. Joyce took the events from his real life. Joyce’s family had to move to other cities several times. In the novel we can see that it happens to Stephan’s family. Also Joyce left Ireland for a new life. So does Stephen in the novel.

James Joyce perfected his style stream-of-consciousness with the novel. He was doubtless one of the best writers of his time. His novel is the autobiographical one. He had hard times in his life and he actually wrote about his life butunder a different name. The novel can be classified as both a Kunstlerroman (German, meaning a novel about an artist) and Bildungsroman (German, meaning a novel of development or education). We need to understand these two terms before starting to read the novel itself.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Summary

The main character of the novel is Stephen Dedalus. He grows up in the Ireland at the end of the 19th century. He is the oldest of the ten children in the family. Stephen decides to leave behind his social, familial and religious limits. It is because he wants to be an artist. But his Catholic faith and Irish nationality influence him very much.

Stephen attends Clongowes Wood College. It is a strict religious boarding school. In the beginning he feels lonely because he does not have any friends. But soon he makes some friends. He enjoys visiting his family. His family usually talks about the Irish political leader. His name is Charles Steward Parnell. One day they even argue when they are having a Christmas dinner because Charles Steward dies.

Stephen’s father’s name is Simon. He has financial problems. Because of him his family sinks into debt. Stephen’s uncle’s name is Charles. He lives with Stephen’s family until his death. Stephan spends his summer in his uncle’s company. After summer he cannot go back to his school. The reason is his family’s financial problems. His family decides to move to Dublin.

In Dublin Stephen starts attending Belvedere school. There he improves his writing and acting skills. He makes love with a Dublin woman. She is a young prostitute. After his first sexual experience, he starts feeling guilty and ashamed. The reason of this feeling is his Catholic religion.

For a while he ignores his religion and his family. He starts going to prostitutes very often. Also he commits some sins such as masturbation, gluttony and etc. Then one day he hears sermons about sin, judgement and hell. Stephen gets shocked and scared. The sermons strongly influence him. For that reason he decides to devote his life to his religion.

Now Stephen begins attending Mass every day. He becomes a model of Catholic piety. Soon the director of his school wants him to become a priest. Stephen thinks about the offer for a while. Then he realizes that he cannot be a priest. The reason is because he has love for sensual beauty.

Again his family decides to move because of a financial problem. Stephen is waiting for his acceptance to the university. He decides to go for a walk. He walks on the beach and sees a young lady there. He watches her carefully and is struck by her beauty. Now Stephen thinks that love and desire of beauty should not be a source of shame. Then he decides to live his life without his familial, national and religious limits.

Soon Stephen moves on to the university. There he develops some strong friendships. Cranly becomes his close friend. He needs his friends as listeners but he does not want to be dependent. He becomes determined to free himself from all limitations and pressures. That is why he decides to leave Ireland. He hopes to be successful in his life. Stephen Dedalus is determined to achieve a life as an artist.

Themes in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

The development of individual consciousness:.

Perhaps the novel “A portrait of an artist as a young man” is mostly famous for its stream of consciousness style. This style makes the novel a story of the development of Stephen’s mind. It means that the author directly writes the thoughts and sensations that go through a character’s mind.

In the first chapter the young Stephen can describe his world only with simple words. Later, when he becomes a teenager, he is able to think in more adult manner. In the novel the thoughts progress logically. Stephen is more mature now and is aware of his surroundings. But he still trusts the church. Stephen feels ashamed and guilty for his sins.

He seems truly rational only when he is in the university. That happens in the final chapter. By the end of the novel we can see that Stephen achieves emotional, intellectual and artistic adulthood. The development of Stephen’s consciousness in the novel is really interesting because Stephen is a portrait of James Joyce himself.

Role of the Artist:

The novel explores what it means to become an artist. It is not easy to become an artist. Stephen decides to leave his family, friends and country to become an artist. It happens at the end of the novel. Here we can see that Joyce suggests the artist be isolated figure. Stephen turns his back on his community, religion, family and family. It is because he does not want any limitations and strongly wishes to become an artist.

He leaves his community for his goal.  But his goal is to give a voice to the very community. Soon Stephen realizes that his community will be always a part of him. It is because his community created and shaped his identity.

Beauty, Sensitivity, and Imagination:

Stephen greatly values beauty and art. He has a desire for beauty and art. Even as a child, young Stephen is so imaginative and sensitive. These feelings grow with him. He thinks about beauty and power of art carefully. Then he decides to leave the country. It is because he realizes that he cannot live without art. He decides to pursue the life as an artist.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Characters Analysis

Stephen dedalus:.

The main character of the novel. He strongly values art and beauty. That is why he wants to become an artist. But because of his religion, culture and family Stephen cannot live his life to the fullest. He gets confused between religion and art. He tries to be religious man. But it does not last for a long time. Soon he chooses art and leaves his country for a new life.

Simon Dedalus:

Stephen’s father. He has strong sense of Irish patriotism. The family sinks into debt because of him. He is tragic figure. He has a deep pride in tradition.

Mary Dedalus:

Stephen’s mother and Simon Dedalus’s wife. She is a religious woman. She argues with his son about his attending religious services.

Uncle Charles:

Stephen’s great uncle. He lives with Stephen’s family until his death. Stephen spends a lot of time with his uncle during the summer. Stephen and his uncle take long walks together. They usually discuss the history of Ireland and the Dedalus family.

Dante Riordan:

Stephen’s governess. She is extremely pious Catholic woman. Her real name is Mrs. Riordan. She argues with Mr. Casey about the fate of Parnell during Christmas dinner. She values “God and religion before everything!”

The Dealus Children:

They do not play a major role in the novel. But Stephen has several brothers and sisters. They are Maurice, Katey, Maggie and Boody.

An Irish political leader. His death strongly influences the Dedalus family. Parnell is not fictional. He existed indeed. He was powerful leader of the Irish National Party.

Father Arnall:

Stephen’s Latin teacher at Clongowes. He delivers some lectures on death and hell. His speech greatly influences Stephen.

Father Dolan:

The cruel prefect at Clongowes. He unjustly punishes young Stephen and Stephen complains about him to Father Conmee.

Mr. John Casey:

Simon Dedalus’s friend. He is an Irish nationalist. In the novel Mr. Casey argues with Dante over the death of Charles Parnell.

Stephen’s love interest. When he is a boy, Stephen writes his first poem to her. Ten years later, he starts having feelings towards her again. Stephen does not know her very well. But he thinks that Emma is an ideal of femininity.

Stephen’s best friend at the university. Stephen shares his thoughts and feelings with him. He acts as a kind of nonreligious confessor for Stephen. In late-night talks, Stephen usually tells Cranly everything. Cranly is a good friend for Stephen. But even he cannot understand Stephen’s need for absolute freedom.

Eileen Vance:

Stephen’s neighbour when he is a young boy. She is a Protestant. Once as a young boy Stephen tells Dante that he wants to marry Eileen. Dante gets angry because Stephen is Catholic and Eileen is a Protestant.

The bully at Clongowes. He treats Stephen very badly.

Father Conmee:

The rector at Clongowes Wood College. Stephen attends this school as a young boy.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Literary Analysis

When the novel opens, we are in the mind of a child. Joyce takes us inside the mind of a child to show us how a child sees and records the world around him. The child is only three years old and he uses simple words and phrases. His name is Stephen.

As a young child Stephen begins to identify himself with the physical world and with his family. He remembers his father’s hairy face, his mother’s sweet smell and uncomfortable experience of wetting the bed. It was a good time, he says because he feels safe and secure from harm.

His next memory is about his days at Clongowes Wood College. It starts about three years later. Stephen is small and weak and suffers from poor vision. He misses his family and his home very much. He has miserable days there. He feels himself lonely. Stephen is a sensitive young boy at that time.

His first crisis starts when Wells pushes him into the square ditch. Wells is Stephen’s bullying classmate. Because of him they take Stephen to the school infirmary(=a small hospital) to recover from a fever. There Stephen meets Athy. This boy tells Stephen that he too has an unusual name. Stephen feels depressed because of his illness. He comforts himself by imagining his own burial ceremony and Well’s feeling sorry for him. Then he falls into sleep. He remembers Brother Micheal’s words about the death of Charles Stewart Parnell. Parnell is an Irish hero.

One day Stephen returns home to celebrate Christmas. On that day his parents, his old nurse and his father’s friend Casey start talking about Parnell. They are at the Christmas dinner at that time. Stephen gets very excited because for the first time he is sitting at the table with the adults.

But then they start aruing. They argue about the Catholic Church’s role in politics and its attitude toward Parnell’s followers. Casey is Parnell’s loyal supporter. He defends Parnell. He believes that the Church was the reason of Parnell’s death.

The next scene opens Stephen’s back at Clongowes. He is at Father Anell’s Latin lesson. Father Dolan, the prefect of studies notices that Fleming and Stephen are not doing their lessons. He comes near to Stephen. Stephen explains his condition. He cannot do his lessons because broke his glasses. But Dolan doesnot want to believe him. He thinks that Stephen broke his glasses on purpose. Sadistic Dolan punishes Stephen. After that Stephen feels humiliated. He gets angry beacuse of Dolan’s unjust cruelty. His classmates are angry, too. They believe that Stephen should tell about Dolan’s injuctice to the rector.

The rector, Father Conmee is a kind man. He believes ‘s Stephen’s words. The rector promises Stephen that he will resolve the situation. Stephen feels like a hero and a leader. His classmates get happy and lift him. Stephen is happy too because he feels free of fear.

Chapter II:

The second chapter opens with Stephen at home. He is spending the summer with his family. Stephen enjoys being with his father and his Uncle Charles. They go for walks in the mornings together. They talk about their family and country.

At the end of the summer Stephen cannot return his school beacuse his family has financial problems. After some time they move to Dublin. Stephen wants to escape his unhappiness. He deeply starts thinking about love and romance. He writes a short poem about his beloved. After some time Stephen starts attending Belvedere College. It is also a Jesuit school.

The next scene opens about two and half years later. Stephen is probably fourteen years old. He he developed his writing and acting skills. Now he is a confident young man. He is still at Belvedere College. He is preparing to go onstage in the school play.

Suddenly he starts remembering his first terrible year at Belvedere. He felt insecure in those days. One day his English teacher discussed one of Stephen’s essays and said that it contained heresy. His some classmates were jealous of him and some even beat him. He remembers his days half-blinded by tears.

Stephen does not forget those days but he is not angry with his classmates and teachers. Now he is in love with a young girl. She is his adolescent love. The girl came to see him in the play. She admires Stephen.

We next see Stephen travelling with his father on a train. They are going to Cork. There his father Simon plans to sell the rest of his property. Simon tells him about old times and lost friends. Stephen gets bored and starts observing his father.

Simon does not about his son’s sorrow. He continues talking about his old friends. He tells Stephen to always behave like a gentleman. Stephen feels isolated and angry because his father does not really know how to be a father.

In the next scene Stephen gets the prize money for his winning essay. He gets excited and spends his money for dinners, gifts and some redecoration of his home. But soon he starts feeling scared.

He keeps himself separate from his family each evening. Now he is walking alone in the dark street. He feels very lonely. There Stephen meets a young Dublin girl. She is a prostitute. She invites Stephen to her room. There he experiences his first sexual relationship.

Chapter III:

After his first sexual experience he starts feeling ashamed. Joyce refers to it as “Stephen’s first violent sin”. Sometimes he feels unable to pray. He knows that he is in danger of “eternal damnation but he does not regret and pray.

The next scene is in the chapel. Father Arnall begins his sermon on the “death, judgement, hell and heaven”. Stephen gets scared after listening to Father Arnall’s sermon. He feels like Arnall is speaking personally to him.

Stephen feels terrible when he hears the descriptions of Hell. They are extremely painful for Stephen. He imagines the darkness of Hell. Stephen gets frustrated by retreat master’s words. He also feels guilty and ashamed.

After some time Stephen’s legs shaking. Feeling guilty and horrified he leaves the chapel. He knows that he must make confession immediately. Stephen believes that his shame is great. That is why he asks God to forgive his not wanting to confess in the college chapel.

He returns him room soon. Then he starts calculating his sins. Stephen imagines Hell and cruel creatures in it. After that he goes to a chapel on Church Street and talks with an old cleric. The cleric tells Stephen to ask Blessed Virgin for help.

The next morning he takes Holy Communion during Mass. There he vows to begin a new life of purity. Stephen becomes a religious person after that. But it does not last for a long time.

Chapter IV:

The chapter opens with Stephen’s dedicating his life to his religion. Every day he attends an early Mass. Now he has a new harsh discipline for his new life. Soon the director of the school invites him to his office. The director wants him to be a priest. Stephen shakes the director’s hand.

He thinks carefully about the lifestyle of a priest. He wants God to forgive him for his sins but he realizes that he cannot be a priest because he has his own weaknesses and trouble. Also he does not want to live a life of a priest.

He goes home and there learns that they are moving again. The young children start singing and Stephen joins them. At that moment he realizes that he strongly wants be free of his religion and his family’s poverty.

Now he is optimistic about his life. He is sure that he can have a better life. He wants to attend the university. But he is still worried for his future because he has no direction for his life. He starts thinking about his freedom.

He goes to the beach. While walking on the beach he sees a girl there. The young girl is watching the sea. When Stephen sees the girl’s face he is struck by her beauty. He cries out “Heavenly God!” Stephen realizes the importance of beauty. Now he does not feel shame because of his desire for her. The chapter finishes as Stephen pauses to rest for a while. He is on the beach. He falls asleep and gets up much later. It is dark everywhere now.

This is the final and longest chapter of the novel. Stephen’s mother is afraid of university education. It is because she thinks that it will change Stephen. His father curses him for his laziness. Then she warns Stephen about the time. He has to go to the university. He says goodbye to them and goes to the university.

In the next scene we see that Stephen is not a model scholar. He gets bored in the lessons easily. But in this chapter he interacts with his friends and university teachers. When we compare him with other characters, we can see how he is intelligent and talented.

There is another boy. His name is Davin. Stephen and Davin become friends. Stephen is fond of him. He values Davin’s passion. Here we can see a contrast between Stephen’s thoughts and Davins’.

As Stephen goes toward the lecture hall, he meets the Dean of Studies. They talk for a while. The Dean’s understanding of Stephen is limited. For that reason Stephen starts thinking that the Dean has a job but he has does not have knowledge about his job.

After that Stephen takes part in a spirited discussion. It is among a group of his fellow students. Later he meets Cranly and Temple. Soon, Lynch and Davin join them. Stephen explains his aesthetic theory to Lynch there.

Then rain begins to fall. Stephen and Lynch return to the library. Lynch continues talking but Stephen is not listening to his friend. He is watching Emma Clery. Stephen is attracted to her for a long time. H’s mind is full of questions: “How does Emma spend her days? What is she thinking? Next morning, Stephen awakens refreshed because of his dream about Emma. She inspires him very much. He writes a villanelle (pastoral or lyrical poem of nineteen lines, with only two rhymes throughout and some lines repeated) in her honour.

In the next scene, Stephen is again on the library steps. He is watching birds flying overhead. He counts the birds. He hears their cries. Cranly, Dixon, Temple and other’s vioces interrupt his thoughts. Temple and Cranly have a battle of insult. They dislike each other because of their jealousy over Stephen’s attention.

Suddenly, Emma passes by. Stephen is in love with her. Emma seems to invite Stephen to leave his life at the university. Then Stephen wants to talk with Cranly in private. He asks for some advice from Cranly about his “Easter duty”(Confession and communion).

Cranly advices Stephen to do his Easter duty and please his mother. He says that Stephen does not need to believe in the sacredness of the Church rituals. Stephen confesses that he prefers to leave his family, religion and country behind.

He feels a deep need to declare his artistic, spiritual and national independence. But he is sad because he and Cranly have no longer the same opinions about this topic. Stephen says that he will not serve something in which he no longer believes.

In the end Stephen prepares to leave Ireland. He wants to live his life free of any kind of limitations. In his diary he asks his mythical namesick, Daedalus to help him in his new life. He leaves Ireland for a new life of an artist.

A note about the era and its effects on the Novel:

A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man was published in 1916. During the years while James Joyce was writing the novel, he had hard times. His mother died in 1903. Also he had financial problems. During those years The World war II started and it may have some influence on the novel. There was one more thing – his religion. Like Stephen in his novel, James Joyce was under the religious pressure.

He started writing a naturalistic novel in 1904. That is a year after his mother’s death. Joyce wrote Stephen Hero first but then thought that it lacked artistic control. That is why he rewrote it in five chapters under a title – A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. It was his first novel. The novel was based on the events of his own life. We can see Joyce himself in his character – Stephen Dedalus.

More From James Joyce

Short stories.

Stephen Nedoroscik's vision: What does he see when competing without his glasses?

Nedoroscik, who has gone viral on social media as "pommel horse guy," will be the U.S.' last chance at a medal in men's gymnastics. Could this one be a gold?

Published August 3, 2024 • Updated on August 3, 2024 at 10:08 am

Stephen Nedoroscik, the glasses-wearing gymnastics superstar who specializes in just one event, the pommel horse, will once again have his shot at a medal Saturday.

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The talented first-time Olympian has become a viral sensation, likened by many to Clark Kent for taking off his glasses and transforming into a pommel horse hero.

Obsessed with this guy on the US men's gymnastics team who's only job is pommel horse, so he just sits there until he's activated like a sleeper agent, whips off his glasses like Clark Kent and does a pommel horse routine that helps deliver the team its first medal in 16 years. pic.twitter.com/0D1ZqJjFa1 — Megan 📚 (@MegWritesBooks) July 29, 2024

Stephen Nedoroscik, the Clark Kent of pommel horse! 🫡🇺🇸 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/1HfYFSbJvH — NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2024

His glasses have become a focal point in his viral journey to Olympic medalist.

But what exactly can he see while he's competing without them?

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Here's what to know about Stephen Nedoroscik's eyesight:

What does Stephen Nedoroscik see when he's competing?

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Nedoroscik takes his glasses off when he competes on the pommel horse. Sometimes, he wears sports glasses, but those are more for "comfort and superstitious reasons, rather than improving his eyesight," according to his Olympic bio.

“It’s not necessarily clear, but the thing about pommel horse is if I keep them on, they’re gonna fly somewhere,” Nedoroscik told TODAY about his preference to take off his glasses.

But it turns out, he doesn't need to see to compete.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by eyebobs eyewear (@eyebobs)

“When I go up on the pommel horse, it’s all about feeling the equipment. I don’t even really see when I’m doing my gymnastics. It’s all in the hands — I can feel everything.”

What to know about Stephen Nedoroscik's eyesight

Nedoroscik revealed on TikTok that he has crossed eyes — or strabismus.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the condition in adulthood "is when your eyes are not lined up properly and they point in different directions."

"One eye may look straight ahead while the other eye turns in, out, up, or down. The misalignment can shift from one eye to the other," the agency states .

He also has a genetic condition known as coloboma, which, according to the  National Eye Institute , means some of the tissue that makes up the eye was missing at birth. The condition makes him sensitive to light.

When can you see him compete next?

The men's pommel horse final will be held at 10:16 a.m. CT on Aug. 3.

The event will air live on E! and stream on Peacock.

What else to know about Stephen Nedoroscik

The bespectacled gymnast is known for his specialty skills in pommel horse, but he's more than his gymnastics.

The 25-year-old studied electrical engineering at Penn State University, which he attended alongside his girlfriend Tess McCracken.

He loves solving Rubik's Cubes and playing chess, sudoku and video games.

Pommel horse has always been his favorite event.

Though he started off competing in all six events, around the age of 11 or 12 he began to train on pommel horse more intensely. At age 15, his dad bought an old pommel horse from auction and that only fueled his passion.

In October 2021, he broke a bone in his left hand while competing at the 2021 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, and went on to win the world title on pommel horse. Afterwards, he had to wear a cast for 10 weeks.

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Rupert Murdoch gets married for the 5th time in ceremony at his California vineyard

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, 93, has married for the fifth time, his corporation, News Corp, confirmed Sunday.

Murdoch and Elena Zhukova, a 67-year-old Russian-born retired molecular biologist, wed Saturday in a ceremony at his vineyard estate in Bel Air, California. Photographs of the newly married couple were released by News Corp.

The couple  announced their engagement  in March.

Murdoch was most recently married to model and actor  Jerry Hall . They were wed in 2016 and divorced in 2022.

Zhukova is the ex-wife of Alexander Zhukov, a billionaire energy investor and Russian politician. Their daughter, Dasha, was previously married to Russian  billionaire Roman Abramovich , who used to own the Premier League soccer club Chelsea.

Last fall, Murdoch  stepped down  as leader of both Fox News’ parent company and his News Corp media holdings. His son, Lachlan, took his place in a media empire that spans continents and  helped to shape modern American politics .

In 1952, Murdoch inherited a newspaper in his native Australia from his father. Over decades, he built a news and entertainment enterprise that became prominent in the United States and Britain, including ownership of such notable newspapers as The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal.

Fox News Channel, the 24-hour network founded in 1996, has profoundly influenced television, becoming a popular news source among many conservative U.S. audiences and politicians.

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