FAMOUS AMERICAN
AUTHOR ESSAY
Henry James
Cong Trinh
May 26th, 2014
Period 3
Henry James is one of the most intriguing and influential key figures of the late nineteenth century that contributed in the arts of literature. The works and effort he puts into his novels influences the literature mainstream as we know of today. He is a man of philosophy and criticism, showing much of this in his early works of novels. He researches and explores how the human mind thinks and behaves, and uses that to his advantage to create novels that affects the readers’ consciousness, causing them to think deeply of the messages he portrays through his stories. His methods of communicating with the readers aroused interest in many authors and critics who read his literature, leading them to explore deeper into these methods and how they came to be.
Born in New York City on April 15th, 1843, Henry James’ grew up in a wealthy family, brought up by his father, Henry James Sr., who was a philosopher with high intelligence, acquainted with many other well-known philosophers and key figures at the time. Henry James was educated by his father at a young age to think from a philosophical point of view growing up. His father wanted the best education for James and his three siblings, and had them taught by tutors, as well as attending some private schools, mainly focusing on the subjects of literature and languages. As a kid, many famous authors and writers, such as Washington Irving and George Ripley, visited James and his family, which exposed him more to writing and made him take deep interest in literature. James’ siblings had described him as being independent during his free time, constantly reading many works of literature and writing his own thoug...
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...ington Square, which involves a woman named Catherine wanting to marry a man called Morris Townsend. Catherine’s father, Sloper, suspected that Townsend only wants Catherine’s wealth. He constrained her from marrying Townsend, but she goes against her father. As a last attempt, Sloper takes Catherine away on a twelve month trip to Europe away from Townsend. Catherine stilled showed strong love for him, but upon her return, she is insulted by Townsend and said he was just playing with her. Sloper finally proved that he was right about Townsend, but at the cost of Catherine becoming mentally hurt, unable to marry any other man for years to come.
In most of his novels, Henry James often portrays the theme of the selfishness of a person’s desire that corrupts bonds and relationships. A little overused through many of his literatures, James showed how multiple
For it is a commonplace of our understanding of the period that the Victorian writer wanted above all to “stay in touch.” Comparing his situation with that of his immediate predecessors, he recognized that indulgence in a self-centered idealism was no longer viable in a society which ever more insistently urged total involvement in its occupations. The world was waiting to be improved upon, and solved, and everyone, poets, included had to busy themsel...
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is usually read as a ghost story in which the central character, the governess, tries to save the souls of two children possessed by evil. However, the short-story can be also analyzed from many different perspectives, as we come upon a number of hints that lead to various understanding of certain scenes. One of the possible interpretations is the psychoanalytical one, in which we interpret the events either from the point of view of the governess or from the perspective of the two children. I will concentrate on the problem of the governess who, restricted by her own problems and moral dilemmas, projects her fears on her pupils and in this way harms the children. What causes her moral corruption and gradual maddening lies deep in her psyche. Both the Victorian upbringing and the social isolation of a poor village tell her to restrict her sexual desires evoked by the romance reading. The result is tragic. The governess becomes mad and the children psychologically destabilized and scared of the adults. The story ends with the governess strangling the boy in a hysteric fit. The Turn of the Screw is a very popular work of literature, with reach history of critical interpretations where not much can be added, therefore my essay is mostly based on The Turn of the Screw. A History of Its Critical Interpretations 1898 1979 by Edward J. Parkinson.
Henry James confronted the Old World-New World huddle by writing directly about it. Although born in New York City, he spent most of his adult years in England. Many of his novels center on Americans who live in or travel to Europe. With its intricate, highly qualified sentences and dissection of emotional and psychological nuance, James's fiction can be daunting. Among his more accessible works are the novellas Daisy Miller, about an enchanting American girl in Europe, and The Turn of the Screw, an enigmatic ghost story.
I found through countless trials that I’ve been selfish when motivated by affection. However, I am now aware of that flaw, and it is my job to prevent selfishness if it occurs again. Nick involves himself into a culture that is selfish. Nick sees this, but he enjoys the lifestyle. However, when Gatsby dies, he cannot enjoy it any longer. The death of Gatsby releases Nick’s hatred for the world that he invests so much time into. I am reminded of my own conflict. I have felt a similar hatred to those who succeeded where I didn’t, and I realize that we must accept our losses and move on towards a greater goal.
Henry James, a contemporary of Nathaniel Hawthorne, who knew him socially, had lots to say about Hawthorne’s isolation and shyness in his book Hawthorne:
Jack London is the name you can hear everywhere, his writing appealed to millions of people all around the world. London was an American novelist and short-story writer, who wrote passionately about questions of life and death, surviving. The writer had a lot of adventures, experienced the life at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California, all of these influenced his writing style. Jack London descended from the family of his mother Flora and astrologer and journalist William Chaney. The writer has got his education by himself and with help of a librarian Ina Coolbrith - he has a passion to read books at public libraries. Later in life, Jack finally graduated from high school in Oakland. Jack London's work carrier was so variable, he has been a laborer, factory worker, and oyster pirate on the San Francisco Bay, member of the California Fish Patrol, sailor, railroad hob, and gold prospector. Yes, gold prospecting was the big part of his life, when the young writer with his brother-in-law sailed to join the Klondike Gold Rush where he would set his first successful stories. Jack London was a hard-worker, he tried never miss his early morning 1,000-word writing stint, what helped him to write over fifty books between 1900 and 1916. In addition to it, he corresponded with his readers, and made huge researches for improving his writing style, what is, obviously, genius. The consequences of such a hard work became the fact that Jack London had become the best selling, highest paid and most popular American author of his time. Many authors and social advocates have been inspired by Jack London’s heartfelt prose, and readers travel and experience so much through his books.
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
*Abrams, M.H., ed., et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth Edition. Vol.I. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993.
In the history of written literature, it is difficult not to notice the authors who expand their reader's style and manner of reading. Some write in an unusual syntax which forces the reader to utilize new methods of looking at a language; others employ lengthy allusions which oblige the reader to study the same works the author drew from in order to more fully comprehend the text. Some authors use ingenious and complicated plots which warrant several readings to be understood. But few authors have used all these and still more devices to demand more of the reader. James Joyce, writer of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, uses extraordinarily inventive and intricate plot construction, creative and often thought-provoking word constructions, allusions to works both celebrated and recondite, and complex issues and theories when challenging his readers to expand their method of reading.
1 Gard, Roger, ed., Henry James The Critical Heritage (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968), pp. 333.
I will admit it; I did not like Washington Square. That said, when I read the first line to Donald Hall's afterword, I felt like throwing the book away! "Everyone likes Washington Square" (220), HA! Well not me, Mr. Hall. I am not exactly sure why I kept on reading; maybe I was feeling a little masochistic that day! So, behold my surprise when I began to come across some of the author's words that expressed many of the thoughts that I had about the novel and its characters. Luckily, I did not have to read much before some of these ideas came into play.
...mes, 39). James, rather than resorting to the later bitter, gritty realist tactics of Drieser, stays enmeshed in the conventions of society while experimenting with realist conceptions of character. Though the novel caters to the "good taste of the gentlefolk" (Trachtenberg, 182) through its nod to societal norms and customs, James' characters, most especially Catherine Sloper, indicate the emergence of a new reality of "an authentic and original being" (Bell, 38) - a being of lost hopes with the ragged edges of "truth uncompromisingly told."
The author of the criticism then focuses on how Henry James received the anecdote that he would transform into his novel. Henry James twists the basic story into his own work by way of irony. Dr. Sloper is at the center of James's irony. While Dr. Sloper criticizes Catherine as a simpleton who is "ugly and overdressed" (3) he states, "I expect nothing . . . so that if she gives me a surprise, it will be all clear gain. If she doesn't, it will be no loss" (3). This is ironical because he himself played a part in her creation. Bette Howland states that while Washington Square may lack the 'supersubtle' nuances of Henry James' future novels, it "offers his irony at its most efficient. The novel is a system of ironies a closed system. . . James is always doing two things at once. Except for Catherine, the characters are always describing themselves and each other . . . and everything they say cuts both ways" (5).
Haralson, Eric L and Kendall Johnson. Critical companion to Henry James. New York: Facts on File, 2009. Print.
Much is said of the internal reality of the characters in Henry James's novel Washington Square. It is seen as a "psychological novel" where most of the action takes place in the minds of the characters. In an essay titled, "Washington Square: A Study in the Growth of an Inner Self," James W. Gargano addresses the internal reality of the character Catherine Sloper. Within the essay, Gargano argues that "James anatomizes the process by which Catherine's active, secret existence transforms her into an imaginative woman" (129). Although a few of his premises seem far-fetched, I agree with the major arguments of his critique. Most of his examples support his thesis well.