The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James

1305 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Beast in the jungle essay

Point of View as a Narrative Device in “The Beast in the Jungle”
In Henry James’ short story, “The Beast in the Jungle”, the third person narrative is used as a literary device and therefore, the narrator does not play a role in the events of the story. Considering the fact that this is a story about a man’s self-absorption, it is interesting that this form of narration was used; typically, in order to completely capture a narrator’s self-interest first-person would be the narrative choice. Instead, James’ choice of the third person narrative is an advantage with respect to the theme of the story: a life that is not fully realized. The process by which the reader comes to understand the character of Marcher in an objective manner parallels the need of the main character to seek self-discovery by looking outside of himself. This paper will analyze James’ use of point of view in the story by applying it to the description of the first meeting between Marcher and May, and examining how this literary device is used to help the reader understand the characters and their strengths and shortcomings from the beginning of the story.
The story begins with a suggestion of a seasonal setting; the party at which Marcher and May meet takes place at a manor called Weatherend, and the two characters are named for months, one of which is cold and dreary and the other is bright and lively. Even though James chose to write in the third person narrative, the person telling the story stays relatively detached from the characters usually, the third person point of view becomes an all-knowing one, but in “The Beast in the Jungle”, there is a distance from the characters that contradicts the typical effect of this narrative device. For example, d...

... middle of paper ...

...characters as well as narrative perspectives that dispense with the comforting security of a single unified voice that delivers one accurate interpretation (Ghani and Akram) This leaves the reader with the ability to fill in the details of the story because of the open-ended nature through which it has been written, using the third person point of view.

Works Cited

Bobe, Diandra. "Re-Defining Meaning in Henry James' "The Beast in the Jungle"." 2003. Bryn
Mawr.edu. Web. 7 December 2013.

Ghani, Mamuna and Radia Akram. “Henry James and the Pursuit of Consciousness: a Psycho
Stylistic Study of the Beast in the Jungle." June 2011. Pakistani Journal of Social
Sciences. Web. 7 December 2013.

James, Henry. “The Beast in the Jungle.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed.
Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print

Show More
Related

  • Figurative Language In Flannery O Connor's Good Country People

    2497 Words  | 5 Pages

    In every short story there is always a deeper meaning to the literature work, any author wants to communicate a multi-layered idea, to their readers, they wants their readers to connect to the short story that they are telling. The authors of these types of literature writings are able to take their readers on a journey within their writings. When a person reads these literary works, they begin to unravel and interpret the symbolic nature of the character’s journey throughout the short story. Also, the journey is

    Read More

  • The Struggles of Families in Poverty in The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    “In twentieth-century America the history of poverty begins with most working people living on the edge of destitution, periodically short of food, fuel, clothing, and shelter” (Poverty in 20th Century America). Poverty possesses the ability to completely degrade a person, as well as a family, but it can also make that person and family stronger. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, a family of immigrants has to live in severe poverty in Packingtown, a suburb of Chicago. The poverty degrades the family numerous times, and even brings them close to death. Originally the family has each other to fall back on, but eventually members of the family must face numerous struggles on their own, including “hoboing it” and becoming a prostitute. The Jungle, a naturalistic novel by Upton Sinclair, reveals the detrimental effects that a life of poverty exerts on the familial relationships of immigrants in Chicago during the early 1900’s.

    Read More

  • Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    American consumers think of voting as something to be done in a booth when election season comes around. In fact, voting happens with every swipe of a credit card in a supermarket, and with every drive-through window order. Every bite taken in the United States has repercussions that are socially, politically, economically, and morally based. How food is produced and where it comes from is so much more complicated than the picture of the pastured cow on the packaging seen when placing a vote. So what happens when parents are forced to make a vote for their children each and every meal? This is the dilemma that Jonathan Safran Foer is faced with, and what prompted his novel, Eating Animals. Perhaps one of the core issues explored is the American factory farm. Although it is said that factory farms are the best way to produce a large amount of food at an affordable price, I agree with Foer that government subsidized factory farms use taxpayer dollars to exploit animals to feed citizens meat produced in a way that is unsustainable, unhealthy, immoral, and wasteful. Foer also argues for vegetarianism and decreased meat consumption overall, however based on the facts it seems more logical to take baby steps such as encouraging people to buy locally grown or at least family farmed meat, rather than from the big dogs. This will encourage the government to reevaluate the way meat is produced. People eat animals, but they should do so responsibly for their own benefit.

    Read More

  • Beast In The Jungle Narcissism Essay

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Marcher, the protagonist of “The Beast in the Jungle”, is about a narcissistic upper-class man who believes his life is to be defined by some unforetold event. He focuses only on himself and as a result, he neglects everything and everyone in his life. Marcher meets May Bartram, a woman who knows his secret, and instead of pursuing a romantic relationship with her, or even a genuine friendship, he uses her for his own benefit. Henry James utilizes a variety of literary devices to convey this theme in his story, such as the title, symbolism,

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    What is human nature? How does William Golding use it in such a simple story of English boys to precisely illustrate how truly destructive humans can be? Golding was in World War Two, he saw how destructive humans can be, and how a normal person can go from a civilized human beign into savages. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the theme of human nature to show how easily society can collapse, and how self-destructive human nature is. Throughout the story Golding conveys a theme of how twisted and sick human nature can lead us to be. Many different parts of human nature can all lead to the collapse of society. Some of the aspects of human nature Golding plugged into the book are; destruction, demoralization, hysteria and panic. These emotions all attribute to the collapse of society. Golding includes character, conflict, and as well as symbolism to portray that men are inherently evil.

    Read More

  • Upton Sinclair's Work Conditions

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Employment is hard to find and hard to keep and a job isn’t always what one hoped for. Sometimes jobs do not sufficiently support our lifestyles, and all too frequently we’re convinced that our boss’s real job is to make us miserable. However, every now and then there are reprieves such as company holiday parties or bonuses, raises, promotions and even a half hour or hour to eat lunch that allows escape from monotonous workloads. Aside from our complaints, employment today for majority of American’s isn’t totally dreadful, and there always lies opportunity for promotion. American’s did not always experience this reality in their work places though, and not long past are days of abysmal and disgusting work conditions. In 1906 Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” was published. His novel drastically transformed the way Americans felt about the unmitigated power corporations wielded in the ‘free’ market economy that was heavily propagandized at the turn of the century. Corporations do not have the same unscrupulous practices today because of actions taken by former President Theodore Roosevelt who felt deeply impacted by Sinclair’s famous novel. Back in early 1900’s in the meatpacking plants of Chicago the incarnation of greed ruled over the working man and dictated his role as a simple cog within an enormous insatiable industrial machine. Executives of the 1900’s meatpacking industry in Chicago, IL, conspired to work men to death, obliterate worker’s unions and lie to American citizens about what they were actually consuming in order to simply acquire more money.

    Read More

  • Snows Of Klimanjaro And The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock Analysis

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    People go through life wanting to achieve their full potential; however, many never take a moment to analyze what may affect how their life turns out. In this essay, I will be identifying and analyzing the three most significant points of comparison shared by the character Harry in Hemingway’s “Snows of Kilimanjaro” and the narrator of T.S Elliot’s poem “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock”. The character Harry in “Snows of Kilimanjaro” has lived a good life and has traveled throughout many countries in Europe. Even though he pursued a career in writing, he is not well accomplished because he is drawn towards living a lazy luxurious life. While in Africa with his wife, he faces a huge conflict, which causes him to be regretful for how he has chosen to live is life. The narrator of T.S Elliot’s poem “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock” enters the dynamic consciousness of its character Alfred Prufrock whose feelings, thoughts, and emotions are displayed in an

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Golding explores the vulnerability of society in a way that can be read on many different levels. A less detailed look at the book, Lord of the Flies, is a simple fable about boys stranded on an island. Another way to comprehend the book is as a statement about mans inner savage and reverting to a primitive state without societies boundaries. By examining the Lord of the Flies further, it is revealed that many themes portray Golding’s views, including a religious persecution theme.

    Read More

  • The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

    1571 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Jungle,” written by Upton Sinclair in 1906, describes how the life and challenges of immigrants in the United States affected their emotional and physical state, as well as relationships with others. The working class was contrasted to wealthy and powerful individuals who controlled numerous industries and activities in the community. The world was always divided into these two categories of people, those controlling the world and holding the majority of the power, and those being subjected to them. Sinclair succeeded to show this social gap by using the example of the meatpacking industry. He explained the terrible and unsafe working conditions workers in the US were subjected to and the increasing rate of corruption, which created the feeling of hopelessness among the working class.

    Read More

  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    Narration has a profound, formative influence in conveying the complex nature of human communication. This in turn, effects the ways in which the reader responds to the text. In ‘The curious incident of the dog in the night time’ Christopher’s father Ed understands his sons inability to interpret human emotion and reasoning and thus, has developed alternate ways in which he can communicate with his son which are accepted by Christopher. This is evident in chapter 31 where Christopher describes “ He held up his right hand.. we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other. i do not like hugging people so we do this instead. It means he loves me”. Through the simple sentences used in the first person narration, the intricate nature o...

    Read More

  • The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel, The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga the main character, is Balram, one of the children in the “darkness” of India. Adiga sheds a new light on the poor of India, by writing from the point of view of a man who was at one time in the “darkness” or the slums of India and came into the “light” or rich point of view in India. Balram’s job as a driver allows him to see both sides of the poverty line in India. He sees that the poor are used and thrown away, while the rich are well off and have no understanding of the problems the poor people must face. The servants are kept in a mental “Rooster Coop” by their masters. The government in India supposedly tries to help the poor, but if there is one thing Adiga proves in The White Tiger, it is that India’s government is corrupted. Despite the government promises in India designed to satisfy the poor, the extreme differences between the rich and the poor and the idea of the Rooster Coop cause the poor of India to remain in the slums.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    I got a grade 1+ for this paper so u can be sure it will get you a good grade.

    Read More

  • Innocence in Daisy Miller

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    James' manipulation of appearances in Daisy Miller as well as other character's notions of these appearances provides us with a novella of enigmatic and fascinating characters. Daisy, the most complicated of these ambiguities, is as mysterious as she is flirtatious. James gives her a carefully constructed enigmatic quality that leaves the reader wondering what her motivations were and who she truly was. He structures the novella in such a way as to stress the insights that the supporting characters provide into Daisy's character, weather accurate or erroneous. Despite their questionable reliability, they allow James to make commentary on both European and American cultures and social class.

    Read More

  • Lord of The Flies by William Golding

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, was a pretty decent book and really kept my interest most of the time. It was about a group of English boys trapped on an island after a plane crash. When they first realize they are on the island they are ecstatic, no adults, no rules, and it seemed as if they treated the predicament as a game. They build fire, feast, and make rules. As the novel continues, the boys are beginning to venture from civilization and go towards savagery. I believe the overall point of the book was civilization versus savagery and was developed throughout the novel. Fear began to spread throughout the island and it takes control of the boys’ lives and really seemed as if it caused them to destroy.

    Read More

  • Effective Use of the First Person in First Confession

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...s. The reader is also shown that Jackie's mother dislikes her mother-in-law's mannerisms. This use of conveying the story through the characters is another method that is primarily used in first-person point of view, conventionally for its simplicity and advantage of giving several details in a short amount of time.

    Read More

More about The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James

Open Document