T. S. Eliot's Critique of Henry James' Washington Square
In the article "A Prediction," by T. S. Eliot, Henry James is both criticized and praised as a writer: "His technique has received the kind of praise usually accorded to some useless, ugly and ingenious piece of carving which has taken a very long time to make; and he is widely reproached for not succeeding in doing the things that he did not attempt to do" (55). Eliot seems to feel that James has not been properly criticized, and in fact that some criticisms are contradictory and inconsistent. Perhaps critics of James have expressed themselves in these manners because James's writing is hard to identify with because it is not real.
In Washington Square, there are several components that cause the novel to come across as unrealistic. The most prominent appears to be the characters and how they are presented and interact with each other throughout the novel. The personality of each character is very hard to pinpoint. As I read through the novel, I could not figure out exactly what Doctor Sloper's motives were. Did he really dislike Morris Townsend or was he just trying to keep his daughter from marrying anyone at all? The Doctor's reasons seem sufficient enough, "If Morris Townsend has spent his own fortune in amusing himself, there is every reason to believe that he would spend yours" (71).
However, the Doctor's motives also seem curious. He waited to tell Catherine that he disliked Morris until after he had asked her to marry him, when all along the Doctor disliked Morris. In fact, it was hard to ignore the doctors snide comments about Morris that appeared consistently throughout the book. For example, at the traditional Sunday evening at Mrs. Almond's, the Doctor comments, "'He is amazingly conceited!'" (57). The Doctor comments without having really talked with Morris. He has made up his mind about Morris before he really even meets him
Regardless of James's failure to present real characters who have believable social settings, work for a living, and express emotions and opinions about the trials and tribulations that they encounter, Eliot argues that, "had James been a better hand at character, he would have missed the sensibility to the peculiar class of data which were his province" (55).
Sometimes the way people act around you isn’t the way they act around other people. A good example of this is Shirley Jackson’s, “The Possibility of Evil”. The main character, Miss Strangeworth, isn’t as nice as she may seem. Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does, what the narrator says about her, and how other characters interact with her.
The most obvious stylistic device used by Eliot is that of personification. She uses this device to create two people from her thoughts on old and new leisure. The fist person is New Leisure, who we can infer to be part of the growth of industry in the 19th century. He is eager and interested in science, politics, and philosophy. He reads exciting novels and leads a hurried life, attempting to do many things at once. Such characteristics help us to create an image of New Leisure as Eliot sees him.
Writing a journal from the perspective of a fictional eighteenth century reader, a mother whose daughter is the age of Eliza's friends, will allow me to employ reader-response criticism to help answer these questions and to decipher the possible social influences and/or meanings of the novel. Though reader-response criticism varies from critic to critic, it relies largely on the idea that the reader herself is a valid critic, that her critique is influenced by time and place,...
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s elaborately descriptive writing style has been studied and criticized by people all over the world for years. Hawthorne has been thought of as one of the greatest writers in history, but his unique style has also been negatively criticized and disapproved of. No matter the opinion of his works, the people who knew him personally respected Hawthorne. “On the day after Hawthorne’s funeral, in May 1864, [Ralph Waldo] Emerson wrote in his journal: ‘I thought him a greater man than any of his works betray…’'; (Martin 37). Hawthorne, however, was not so well thought of by people who did not know him well. Someone who would rather be creative and write than have a “real job'; was not very well respected in Hawthorne’s day. A writer who wrote fictional tales was even less respected than an author who wrote of actual events was. These unjustified opinions of writers influenced Nathaniel Hawthorne throughout his life and career in creative writing.
Washington Square Park is home to thousands of New York University Students, families leisurely strolling through the park on afternoons, people cooling off at the fountain during the summer, couples lounging on the green grass, and even home to the New York City Pillow Fight held during the summer. At the center of Greenwich Village, it provides an escape from the busy traffic and city surrounding it. Most importantly, it is home to the Washington Square Arch.
Osteosarcoma is a malignant cancer of the bone. This tends to be in the extremities of the human body. It tends to occur in the shin, thigh, and upper arm, usually large bones with very fast growth rates. But it can occur in any bone. This type of cancer is most common in teenagers and people over 60. ("Osteosarcoma") In teens with cancer, about 5% is osteosarcoma. ("Osteosarcoma" Teens Living with Cancer.) It is more common in males than females. (“Disease Information”) In males it usually affects people between the ages of 15-19. And in girls, it is usually ages 10-14. Most teens effected are taller compared to the average. ("Osteosarcoma" Teens Living with Cancer.) Growth spurts can onset this cancer so it is very rare in children less than 5 years of age. (“Disease Information”) It usually is never expressed in children before puberty. ("Osteosarcoma" Teens Living with Cancer.) There are more incidences of this in black children than in white children. (“Disease Information”) This could be as a result of the genetic factors. This ...
Bette Howland also examines the similarities present between Washington Square and The Portrait of a Lady, The Wings of the Dove, and The Golden Bowl. In the four novels, Henry James uses his favorite configuration of a triangle.
Osteosarcoma, characterized as a neoplasm that produces osteoid, is a highly malignant tumor that develops predominantly in the metaphysis of the long bones, often in the distal femur and proximal tibia. More rare osteosarcomas may develop in the soft tissue. Although the malignancy usually arises in the medullary cavity of the metaphysis of a growing tubular long bone, less frequent growth patterns can develop on the surface on the bone. Surface osteosarcomas, as well as being significantly rarer, are also of a low grade, where else medullary osteosarcomas are of an aggressive nature, making it high grade. Osteosarcomas may also be confined to the cortex, and can even originate in an extraskeletal site.
Schoenberg, T. J. (2001). Bradford, William - Introduction. "Literary Criticiem (1400-1800). Retrieved March 2011, from enotes.com/literacy-criticism: www.enotes.com/literary-criticism/bradford-williams
"SparkNotes: Everyday Use: Analysis of Major Characters." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. .
Remember being a little kid and being pushed down on the playground, being picked last in middle school, or being called horrible names in high school? Those are just a few examples of how people are bullied. A person who repeatedly physically or verbally torments or harasses someone in anyway is bullying (“Bullying” par. 1). It unfortunately happens almost everywhere. It’s a huge problem that is beginning to take over schools. Middle school is an especially troublesome time because this is the time where kids are just trying to be accept by others and they are the most vulnerable. Bullying damages children and teens in all aspects. (“Verbal” par. 4) Depending on how they are being bullied it can affect them physical, emotionally, and even physiologically. (“Verbal” par. 4) There are tragic stories of suicides and teenagers cutting themselves everywhere because of being bullied and finally they’ve reached their last straw. (“Verbal” par. 4) Which makes since because kids who are being bullied are twice as likely to commit suicide compared to someone who is not being bullied. (Murray par. 5) Suicide has hit number three on what kills teenagers in the United States. (Murray par. 6) Victims who become bullied are normally people who try to separate themselves from conflict. (“Bullies” par. 7) They normally are “loners” or “outcasts”, which makes them more vulnerable to become the victim. (“Bullies” par. 7) They may like different types of music, dress unlike others, or have a disability. (Petrocelli par. 3) Children who are being bullied often show common signs like crying and not wanting to go to school. (“Bullying” par. 4) Many say people bully others because they themselves feel like “outcasts” or like they have no friends but ac...
...ion. As each character begins to “emerge from that stupidity” (198) of delusion, they are given the opportunity to show to show their true moral standing through the way in which they deal with the realities—the realities with which they are confronted with after the illusions starts rubbing off. Dorothea morally elevates herself in the post-imaginative state, showing her ability to accept her duties. Whereas, Lydgate is less satisfying, forcing himself into a perpetual compromise in which her maintains some of his illusion while completely sacrificing his goals and himself to the consequences. Thus, this temptation to imagine in inescapable in the world of Middlemarch, and—as Eliot informs the reader—in the world at large: “We are all of us imaginative in some form or other, for images are the brood of desire,” in this inescapable “fellowship of illusion” (304).
Other images of Eliot’s, in contrast, are much larger than Shakespeare, but again succeed in making Eliot’s character look small and insignificant in comparison. Eliot describes the enormous amount of adornments around the room, including her ‘vials of ivory and coloured glass’, which contain many perfumes, which are described as ‘drowning the sense in odours’ and again it is the lack of subtlety t...
The novel Washington Square focuses mainly on the relationship between Catherine Sloper and her dad Dr. Sloper. He is a well-known physician in New York. He is an up and coming medical doctor, so it is in his nature to marry Catherine Harrington a wealthy young woman. Even though Austin Sloper is not independently rich, his practice is growing and he is highly looked upon on. Their first child is a boy;
Three million bullying incidents are reported each year in the U.S. and over 160,000 kids skip school each day because they are scared of being bullied (Havenrich). Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds and sixth leading cause of death for 5 to 14 year olds ("Bullying"). Bullying has been going on for decades (Garby), and goes unnoticed by many everyday. One out of every four school students encounters taunting, teasing, shoving, and called names daily by school bullies (Havenrich). Bullying happens on the playground, during class, and to and from school (Wright). Bullying has become a big issue and some states are making laws to stop bullying (Garby). It damages the people being bullied, effects the bully himself, and sometimes the people that did not take part in the bullying.