Henry James' Daisy Miller and "The Beast in the Jungle" are
first and foremost powerful tragedies because they employ such
universal themes as crushed ambitions and wasted lives. And the
appeal of each does not lie solely in the darkening plot and atmosphere,
but in those smallest details James gives us. Omit Daisy's strange little
laughs, delete Marcher's "[flinging] himself, face down, on [May's]
tomb," and what are we left with? Daisy Miller would be a mere
character study against the backdrop of clashing American and Euro-
pean cultures and "The Beast in the Jungle," a very detailed inner diary
of a completely self-absorbed man who deservingly meets his fate in
the end. It is only when we consider the unfulfilled social ambitions of
Daisy Miller and the hopeless, empty life of John Marcher as tragedies
that we begin to feel for these two works and discover the unmistakable
depths that make them so touchingly, and sometimes disturbingly,
profound. Their tragic conclusions are about the only thing these
stories share, though; there is a stark difference in the way Henry James
approached his narrative and characterization technique to convey most
fully the underlying tragedies. And yet, despite such differences, which
draw mainly from the use of opposing tones of voice in the two stories,
the bleakness of the stories of Daisy and Marcher is unmistakable.
Edith Wharton proposes an interesting theory as to what makes a
tragedy, and it has very much to do with our reading experience. What
we know about the events slowly unfolding before us, or what the
author allows us to know, heavily influences the way we feel about the
story and its characters, ...
... middle of paper ...
...knowing that comes
from reading is sometimes also granted to the characters we are reading
about. Despite the differences in narrative techniques, the two stories
do converge here. It is sad to leave these stories knowing that part of
the blame for the fates of the two main characters must actually be put
on themselves, but even sadder to see that they are not allowed to
remain ignorant forever, to know that they, too, finally realize how they
have become their own worst enemies. And herein lies the essence of
their tragedies: this "illumination" (54), "this horror of waking" (673).
Works Cited
James, Henry. "The Beast in the Jungle." The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford Books, 1995.
______. Daisy Miller. New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1995.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is about a Lithuanian family living in Chicago in the 1900’s. They had faith in the American dream, hoping to start a new and successful life. Unfortunately they were deprived of they hopes and dreams. They were placed in the middle of a society where only the strongest and richest survived. The rich keep getting richer and the poor get even poorer. Jurgis and his family went to extreme lengths just in hopes of finding a job, they were forced to travel in heavy rain, strong winds, and thick snow, even when they were sick, in fear of losing their jobs. The Jungle pointed out many flaws in society such as filthy meat and sickening work conditions.
In the book Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, Jay lives near monkeys that will make him rich if he catches them. The book took place in the Cherokee Ozarks of Oklahoma in the 19th century. The protagonist of the book is Jay Berry, a 14-year-old boy who is very arrogant but changes as the book ends. The monkeys are obviously the antagonist of the novel. The monkeys are extremely intelligent creatures, especially Jumbo, the smart leader of the pack. The conflict of the story is man vs. nature. In the novel the Summer of the Monkeys, the importance of overcoming fears through its development of the plot and theme.
Sinclair’s The Jungle, is his fictionalized report of Chicago's Packingtown. It traces a family of Lithuanian immigrants in Chicago, and describes the horrifying living and working conditions they endure. Through Jurgis, the protagonist, and his family, Sinclair unfolds the tragedy of suffering of all Packinghouse workers in their pursuit of the American Dream. He gives a detailed description about their ordeals, from their lodging at boardinghouses to their buying of cheated house,...
On July 1, 1776, Congress reconvened. The following day, the Lee Resolution for independence was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, New York not voting. Immediately afterward, the Congress began to consider the Declaration. Adams and Franklin had made only a few changes before the committee submitted the document. The discussion in Congress resulted in some alterations and deletions, but the basic document remained Jefferson's. The process of revision continued through all of July 3 and into the late afternoon of July 4. Then, at last, church bells including Paul Revere's bell, rang out over Philadelphia; the Declaration had been officially adopted.
Elephants'." Studies in Short Fiction. 17.1 (Winter 1980): 75-77. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 75-77. Literature Resource Center. Gale.
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents produced by an American thinker. Reading The Declaration of Independence presents the reader with a window into the world of revolutionary America. It conveys the dynamic nature of the time better than any written work of the period. The real importance of The Declaration of Independence lies not in the purpose for which Jefferson created it, to declare independence from Great Britain, but rather how future generations have interpreted Jefferson's words. Jefferson's document originally guaranteed basic rights for a select segment of the American population. Today it has become a document which has been interpreted to guarantee the basic rights of everyone living in America and abroad. In a way it has become a document with a life of its own. It has become something far more substantial than anything Jefferson or his contemporaries, writing within an eighteenth century mindset, could ever have believed it would become.
In the beginning of the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson wrote about how when any form of government becomes “destructive”, it is the right of the people “to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government…” Jefferson wrote very passionately about how all men have rights which are “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”. Jefferson recognized that these rights are not always attainable, but when a government repeatedly ignores these rights completel...
In Conclusion this Document was written to bring Independence to the United States of America. This document clearly stated the claim and supported it overwhelming good. They continued to give reasoning on why the country was at risk and why they are fighting for their freedom. Every claim made within the document is supported thoroughly by facts from credible educated sources. This document brings to life the citizens of the thirteen states at that time because it was arguing for their freedom. Still to this day we look back at the Declaration of Independence and see it as a back bone to our country’s freedom. Therefore, this is why we celebrate our freedom every 4th of July due to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Two Hundred and thirty-seven years ago one of the most masterful documents in history was created, which is The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence expressed Thomas Jefferson’s along with the fifty-five American colonists’ vision of revolution towards independence, and a new government pronouncing rupture from Great Britain. In the document, Thomas Jefferson, the author, established that if their government fails to protect their inalienable rights to life, pursuit of happiness and liberty the people have the right to eradicate it. The Declaration of Independence was ratified declaring the United States free and independent on July 4th, 1776. This document was evidently very influentially serious and meaningful as all those men promised to, “Mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Thus, the Declaration of Independence was a successful document due to Jefferson appealing most effectively through diction, syntax, literary devices and most importantly rhetoric to justify the renouncement from the British Crown.
Nevertheless, there are two types of repression, or rather two stages, the first being primal repression as just discussed, which occurs mostly in infancy and will be explored specifically in relation to The Garden Party. Most importantly, an understanding of the second part of repression is most applicable to Henry James’s story, The Beast in the Jungle.
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.
“If any one of these onlookers came sufficiently close, or looked sufficiently hungry, a chair was offered him, and he was invited to the feast.” (Sinclair, 2) This was one of the interesting laws about the wedding feast in the forests of Lithuania where Ona Lukoszaite, Jurgis Rudkus, and their family lived before immigrating to Chicago. In Lithuania, Ona's family troubled by debt, since her father died. Heard about America was a free country, they decided to leave their homeland. Jurgis loved Ona and wanted to marry her. Therefore, he decided to go with her family. After six months immigrated to Chicago, this young couple celebrated their veselija in Packingtown that was Chicago's Meatpacking District in the early 1900s. Their wedding was
Since the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence became “one of the most important American state papers, cited repeatedly by political leaders, activists, and commentators in the United States and in the wider world” (Kazin 142). It was prepared to create not only a democratic political system independent of the British Empire but also a democratic culture of equal liberty and social equality. “Enlightenment-era natural law” as one of the “major strains of early modern Anglophone political thought” can be observed in the document (144). According to this philosophy any individual possesses rights innately. The Americans based their Declaration on “the violations of their rights and liberties that had occurred in the previous
The Declaration of Independence is a document in which fifty six delegates of the thirteen colonies proclaimed their separation from Great Britain. In this assertion of independence the American colonist states that “all men are created equal” and have inalienable rights given by their creator of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, the slaves in the newly established United States do not receive these rights. This aspect of colonial culture weakens the decrees stated in the preamble and brings into question who these delegates determine are the “men” that shall receive these unalienable rights. From my own personal experience I can say that the slaves in the United States will not receive these unalienable rights that the delegates say are for all men. As soon as the captured slaves arrive to the United States their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness has already been taken away. “… a
placed thirty-eight percent of the nation's children in poverty. The cause and effect relationships demonstrated by the author are logically appealing and unmistakably apparent in his perspective and studies. The infallible devising of the facts linked with common sense easily portray the convincing ideas of Popenoe on to others as they indulge into his essay.