Henry James was an American Novelist who was known for many of his novels. He wrote the short story “Daisy Miller” in hopes that he would seem more realistic, but many critics disagreed. The book “Daisy Miller” was published in 1879. In his short story “Daisy Miller”, Henry James writes on the conflict of independence and the harsh social characteristics of Americans that visited Rome, the culture, and how he sets the mood for the short story. James was born on April 15, 1843. James is known as one of the most famous writers in his lifetime. With the start of his career ahead of him, he moved to London, England. While in London, England that is when he wrote most of his famous novels. He wrote Daisy Miller, The American and The Europeans all within the last few years of the 70’s. About ten years later he published a few more of his most famous works (“Henry”). The story of “Daisy Miller” is psychological realism. The character Winterbourne is a young American man living in Europe. He meets a young attractive girl named Daisy Miller, who was staying in Vevey with her family. When Winterbourne told Mrs. Walker about his new love interest, she was quick to tell him about how the Miller’s were presumably uneducated. Daisy and Winterbourne went on a date and he then realized his aunt was right about Daisy’s ill wit. Winterbourne travels to Italy, where he sees Daisy; she was upset that he had not called her. Daisy decided to go to a party with Mr. Giovanelli, which shocked Mrs. Walker. So Daisy left to get Winterbourne to join them on their walk. Mrs. Walker thought Daisy was beginning to ruin her own reputation so she tried to talk to Daisy, but refused to get in her carriage and continued walking with Giovanelli. At the party Mrs. ... ... middle of paper ... ...s, even plays, and some performed plays on stage. James once said, “It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance…and I know of no substitute whatever for the force and beauty of its process.” What James is trying to say is that no matter what, art is art. It does not matter if the writer does not think highly of it. James states that art is beautiful. Whatever you do to your novel, book, or poem, it is beautiful. All around, he is saying that art is life, and that without art there would be nothing. The world would be boring. It is important to get out there and do what you love, no matter what it is. If someone loves what they do, they should do it with one hundred percent dedication (“Henry”). James writes about the conflict of independence and the harsh social characteristics of Americans in Rome, the culture, and how he sets the mood of the story.
In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Daisy struggles between her desire to be with someone she truly loves and her rational to be with someone who will give her social and financial stability. Ultimately, Daisy chooses Tom over Gatsby as he is the safer option once Gatsby is revealed to be untruthful, showing that she is predominately interested in a steady life.
Edith Wharton’s brief, yet tragic novella, Ethan Frome, presents a crippled and lonely man – Ethan Frome – who is trapped in a loveless marriage with a hypochondriacal wife, Zenobia “Zeena” Frome. Set during a harsh, “sluggish” winter in Starkfield, Massachusetts, Ethan and his sickly wife live in a dilapidated and “unusually forlorn and stunted” New-England farmhouse (Wharton 18). Due to Zeena’s numerous complications, they employ her cousin to help around the house, a vivacious young girl – Mattie Silver. With Mattie’s presence, Starkfield seems to emerge from its desolateness, and Ethan’s vacant world seems to be awoken from his discontented life and empty marriage. And so begins Ethan’s love adventure – a desperate desire to have Mattie as his own; however, his morals along with his duty to Zeena and his natural streak of honesty hinder him in his ability to realize his own dreams. Throughout this suspenseful and disastrous novella, Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton effectively employs situational irony enabling readers to experience a sudden shock and an unexpected twist of events that ultimately lead to a final tragedy in a living nightmare.
Most of the time there is a moment in life where one realizes they have lost all innocence and gained some compassion. “Marigolds” shows how one young girl transferred from a child to young adult through her life experiences. Throughout this story another young, but at the same time old in her prime, lady’s experiences are revealed: the author’s. In this short story, “Marigolds,” Eugenia Collier’s subconscious is unmasked through symbolism, diction, and Lizabeth’s actions.
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The story “Daisy Miller” is a romance of a love that can never be. The character Annie P. Miller (known as Daisy Miller) is portrayed as a young naive wild yet, innocent girl who want to do nothing more but have fun with the company she please. The story “Daisy Miller” is a lot like The Age of Innocence. In both the movie and the book the leading lady was shunned from society because of their behavior. Both Daisy and the Countess Olenska were misunderstood and out-casted because they were saw as different. These women did not want to conform to what the society thought was proper and good, they had their own opinion and was bold in their time to state it.
James, Henry. "The Beast in the Jungle." The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford Books, 1995.
Langston worked at various jobs, including that of seaman, traveling to Africa and Europe. His first book of poetry was, ‘The Weary Blues’, which was published in 1926. This book made him known among literary people. James went to Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania, on a scholarship. He received his B.A. degree there in 1929.
In Daisy Miller, Henry James slowly reveals the nature of Daisy"s character through her interactions with other characters, especially Winterbourne, the main character." The author uses third person narration; however, Winterbourne"s thoughts and point of view dominate." Thus, the audience knows no more about Daisy than Winterbourne." This technique helps maintain the ambiguity of Daisy"s character and draws the audience into the story.
Many short story writers have written about the gender and role of woman in society. Some of these stories express what Barbara Walter calls, “The Cult of True Womanhood” meaning the separation of both man and woman in social, political and economic spheres. In order to be considered a “true woman” woman were to abide by the set of standards that were given to her. Women were expected to live by the four main principal virtues - piety, purity, submissiveness, and domestication. In Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Storm,” Calixta the main female character breaks away from “The Cult of True Womanhood” when she has a sexual encounter with her past lover Alcée. The storm goes through many twists and turns that tie with their adulterous actions. Although she breaks away from the four main principal virtues, she in the end is considered to be pure innocent of heart because the action in which occurred happened instantly, and as white as she was, she was taken away from her innocence.
The short story Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid is a mother’s compilation of advice, skills, and life experience to her daughter. The mother believes that her offer of practical and helpful guidance will assist her daughter in becoming a proper woman, and gaining a fulfilling life and respectable status in the community. Posed against the mother’s sincere concern for her daughter’s future is Sir Walter’s superficial affection to his daughters in the novel Persuasion written by Jane Austen. Due to his detailed attention for appearance and social rank, Sir Walter has been negligent to his daughters’ interests and fails to fulfill his responsibility as a father. Throughout both literary works, the use of language and tone towards persuasive endeavors reveals the difference in family dynamics and the success of persuasion on the character’s transformation.
...r but Octavia tells him "You not a bum," she says. "You a man."(p.404) This is significant because it shows he is not seen as a young boy by his mother anymore, he is now seen as a man. We see the influence and change in James by all of the life lessons his mother instills in him, she tells him he needs to not cry, to be strong, and be able to stand alone symbolizes that he must be independent, he must also put others before himself and do things he may not like to do but must do as a necessity to live, such as killing the cardinal birds for supper. Helena also shows James that everything in life you must work for, that is why she tells him to take out the trash cans.
Edith Wharton’s Roman Fever shows the perception of women in the 1930s. Women had just gained the right to vote, but in society the role of the woman had not changed much since the late eighteen hundreds. Women were still expected to be proper and remain pure and innocent. Roman Fever portrays these feminine qualities. Roman Fever has many of the same qualities as Henry James’ short story, "Daisy Miller." Both are written about women who ignore the rules that society has placed on them. It seems Edith Wharton was commenting on women who sinned and the consequences that they will face. In the nineteen thirties, women were to be proper and stay away from such dangers.
James was an authoritarian parent. He was controlling, in-charge and no one questioned him. He would play the role of the doting father. When his children made mistakes, he made a point to criticize them. He often compared them to other kids that he felt were “more perfect.” When his often unspoken expectations were not met he would yell and scream striking fear into his entire family. “He’s not a warm, fuzzy kind of guy, and he’s not going to inspire feelings of intimacy. But when his system works, he can boast about one thing: His recruits tend to obey” (Dewar).
The story of Daisy Miller starts off in Vevey, Switzerland with Winterbourne and Daisy meeting through Daisy's brother Randolph. Winterbourne is immediately attracted to her stating, "she was strikingly, admirably pretty" (James 470). The story continues with Winterbourne giving Daisy a tour of the Chateau de Chillon, and Winterbourne returning to Geneva, where he had an older women waiting for him. Daisy ends up meeting an Italian man, Giovanelli, which eventually leads to her death of malaria. Although the characters seem simple enough, they symbolize much more than themselves. In Henry James's Daisy Miller, Daisy symbolizes all American women who travel abroad to Europe, while Winterbourne symbolizes the European mentality of American tourists.
Through the use of a concise plot, symbolism, descriptive setting, point of view, and dramatic irony, readers are left with a strong feeling of empathy for the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard. Through each paragraph of the story, readers continue to feel empathetic for the woman who grieves the loss of her husband, gains a new feeling of freedom outside of the restrictions of marriage, then loses that freedom when she discovers that her husband is not dead, all within an hour’s time. While women’s independence and freedom within marriage could still be a topic reflected in today’s literature, it would be a much different story than that of Chopin’s time. At the time this story was written, women were expected to do whatever it took to please and cater to their husbands. This story seems to draw from the changes of that time as women were beginning to gain more independence in their lives as in the suffrage movement, marriage, and employment outside the home. Much has changed in women’s rights since the end of the nineteenth century, which is a result of the work of women like Kate