Relationship of Washington Square to Henry James's Other Novels
According to Bette Howland in "Washington Square, the Family Plot," the idea that Henry James should leave Washington Square out of his New York Edition, is "a fitting irony" in that "like Dr. Sloper in the novel, James disinherited his heroine; [and] cut her out of his will" (1). Although James might have wished us to treat Washington Square as an orphan, an outcast, a black sheep as compared with its "better" relatives, Howland's essay quite clearly establishes a familial link between this and James's other, more famous works. As Howland says, "Not only is Washington Square, though disowned, a member of the family--it is the original, the mother lode" (1).
Howland begins
author gives the reader the feeling as if the reader was there, in Washington. The
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.
A satirical point that the author talked about briefly was Weaver's choice to not read the short, original novel, but the even shorter novel summary. The satire is effective because of how the authors describes the book. By including small lines such as "the most skillful example of American naturalism under 110 pages" and "Weaver's choice to read the Cliffs Notes instead of the pocket-sized novel", the brevity and literary relevance of this book is emphasized greatly. To include how short this novel is makes Weaver look positiv...
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.
...ccording to Perkins, although French and Russian realists and naturalists influenced James style, “in Contrast to the European naturalists whose tutelage he acknowledged, he rebelled against the materialistic interpretation of human destiny, and struggled with the problem of undeniable evil as desperately as Hawthorne, whom, among earlier Americans he most admired” (Perkins 1055). This shows that James was greatly influenced by Europeans, but he also has his added his own unique American style. One of James’ stories, “Daisy Miller," takes place in Switzerland. Throughout this story Europeans see America as being hostile and somewhat harsh. During the decade between 1870 and 1880 , the United States was once again beginning to rebuild the nation. This rebuilding or reconstruction not only affected attitudes, but it affected art and literature throughout the world.
The time period of prohibition during the 1920’s became a violent one. Alcohol was illegal and people such as Lucky Luciano and Al Capone made it a profit. In order to do so, they had to grow up and rise in the ranks of organized crime to make their own empires. They involved themselves in multiple illegal activities such as gambling, extortion and prostitution. The prohibition amendment did not do what Congress and the government wanted to do. They thought that banning alcohol would raise the morals of men and women. They also thought that crime would decrease but they thought wrong. Not only did crime increase, but it increased more than what was before and ever expected creating some of the most violent and deadly times of the Great Depression.
Mob Involvement with Prohibition In 1917 Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution which prohibited the export, import, manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States. This new law is believed to have had the greatest effect on the twenties creating a feeling of rebellion and wild behavior. Many people thought this law violated there right to live by their own standards and have a good time. The Volstead Act passed by Congress set up penalties to all violators of the Eighteenth Amendment. Prohibition is one of the best things ever done by the United States Government. It single-handedly created new business opportunities and brought people together like never before. It had also created a booming new industry, and created a new way of life for many people. Unfortunately, none of these things were good things. The new business opportunities were all in the organized crime realm. With the banning of alcohol they saw an incredible boom in business. No longer did they have to rely on robbery, brothels and cons. There was a whole new business out there and it was making millions. Prohibition also united the American people more than anything since the World War. Everyone, from the poor to the rich, united to break the law. Even the police, yeah sure they will serve and protect, unless they find a better deal. The police were letting alcohol be made and sold right under their noses. The rich buy the booze to spice up their parties and the poor spend their time and money in bootleggers houses getting drunk. Rarely do the rich and the poor agree on anything. But, prohibition contributed to an increased sense of community and neighborly love. Prohibition also brought big business to the small businessman. Alcohol making used to be done by all the large companies. With prohibition the big companies were put out and the small businesses had to meet the demand. This was what I was referring to earlier by creating a huge business opportunities for the hard-working little guy, rather than the large corporations. I suppose you could venture to say prohibition was like a modern time welfare. By saying this I mean rather than making the rich richer and the poor poorer, prohibition helped the poor lift themselves from poverty without the help of the rich. Also prohibition had many benefits beyond the obvious.
Frank, America’s mother, Browning and the whole system are responsible for all the negative impact on America. First, America’s mother forced America to suffer by deserting him with his brothers. Second, Browning deliberately uses America for the purposes of achieving his immoral ambitions. Finally, the system is guilty for backing away from America when he needed the system the most. The novel shows the reader that how America lost his ability to trust someone ever again and how after a lot of struggles and pain, how he was able to gain that belief to ever trust someone once again. After reading this novel, people should acknowledge the fact that, these are individuals who have gone through a lot of pain either emotionally or mentally and it is not easy for them to recover and be able to live a normal life once again. So in order to avoid turning someone into America, people should always there prior attention to these people and help them to be able to come out of their fears and to be able to live happily once
From cutting a cherry tree at the age of six to being the first president of the United States George Washington was a very influential man throughout his career. The topics of discussion will be his life before, during, and after his career, his major events, and the effects of his major events on the world. There shall be three subtopics amongst each main topic. For the first section, the subtopics are the importance of his birthdate and birthplace, childhood life, and his education. The second section’s subtopics will consist of the hardships and prospering of the American Revolution, the major battles of the American Revolution that George Washington was a major part of, and his presidency. And finally, the three subtopics used in the third section will be the aftermath of the American Revolution, Strategies used in the American Revolution, and how he influenced the style of government for the United States and many different parts of our modern world.
From this novel, the reader can learn more about the economic system, and how it is applied to life. The reader is able to enjoy the narrative along with learn the principles that are introduced by Roberts.
Comparable to no other moment in history, the Cuban Missile Crisis shaped a generation entering the nuclear age with unease and tension. Decisions ultimately were made by the leaders of the nations which were undoubtedly shaped and influenced from voices far exceeding the three men’s own ideologies. The opinions and beliefs of those closest to the leaders with large vested interest in the Crisis dictated monumental moments throughout the thirteen-day standoff. The issue arouse on the morning of October 16th when National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy awoke President Kennedy with startling photographs taken by U-2 aircraft over Cuba’s mainland. The photos proved that there were Soviet Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles on the island, which is only 90 miles from American shoreline. Long before the Cuban Missile Crisis, as noted by the JFK Presidential Library, “Kennedy warned of the Soviet's growing arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles and pledged to revitalize American nuclear forces.”...
“Money can’t buy happiness” is a saying that is often used to make one understand that there is more to life than wealth and money. Jay Gatsby was a man of many qualities some of which are good and bad. Throughout the book of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, we learn of his past and discover the true qualities of Jay Gatsby. Starting from the bottom, with little money, we learn of why Gatsby struggled so hard all his life to become wealthy and what his true goal in life was. When reading this story, the true reasons behind Gatsby’s illegal actions reveal themselves and readers can learn a great life lesson from this story and the actions the characters take. Readers can see through Gatsby’s contradictions of actions and thoughts that illustrate the theme of the story, along with his static characteristics, that all humans are complex beings and that humans cannot be defined as good or bad.
Bette Howland, in her criticism of Henry James's Washington Square, focuses on two different aspects of the story's development. She begins by impressing on the reader how Henry James himself viewed his creation and then plunges into the history behind the plot. In doing this, she describes how Henry James has used irony to make this story his own creation. Half way through the article she changes directions and shows how Washington Square is the forerunner of his other novels. She describes how they all have the same basic plot.
Both the 19th and 20th century authors of Henry James and Edith Wharton are commonly compared to one another and their works are criticized as being close to, if not, the same. For ten years, the two authors had been close friends and even traveled throughout France and Europe together looking for inspiration and new ideas. Wharton had never taken any type of criticism well. Eventually Edith Wharton sent her first written story, “The Line of Least Resistance,” to Henry James and she learned to accept criticism respectfully as one author to another. Henry James soon became a vital literary advisor in some of her most famous works. But soon she began to follow the example of James closely and started to write in his style. This style included the construction of appearances along with a tragic ending. Writing with the manners, customs, and beliefs of the upper class society, also allowed James to question the truth of that society. While including this style in Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton also reflects Henry James’s ideas of an unreliable narrator, through the view of a different gender than that of the author, from The Turn of the Screw. In writing through the mind of another person, Henry James and Edith Wharton both used their knowledge of psychology to influence their works. But while psychology is only a minor influence in Wharton’s work, her texts closely resemble that of an influence from James. Since Henry James was a friend, critic, and mentor to Edith Wharton, her novel Ethan Frome, published in 1911, reflects the influences James had on her writing, especially from his novel The Turn of the Screw, published in 1898.
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).