What is the purpose of Daisy in the novel Daisy Miller by Henry James? Why did James create such a beguiling and bewildering character? Since the publication of James's novel in 1878, Daisy has worn several labels, among them "flirt," "innocent," and "American Girl." Daisy's representation of an American Girl of the late 19th century is evident. Her free-spiritedness and individuality reflect the social movement of the American middle-class. The question of Daisy's innocence, however, remains
In 1878, Henry James wrote, Daisy Miller, a novella about a young American girl and her travels in Europe. Daisy Miller is a complex short story with many underlying themes such as appearance versus reality, knowledge versus innocence, outward action versus inward meditation, and Nature versus urbanity. In this short story, one is left to judge whether Daisy Miller, the main character of the story, is “a pretty American flirt” or a misunderstood, modern young woman. By probing into the complexities
James create such a beguiling and bewildering character? Since the publication of James's novel in 1878, Daisy has worn several labels, among them "flirt," "innocent," and "American Girl." Daisy's representation of an American Girl of the late 19th century is evident. Her free-spiritedness and individuality reflect the social movement of the American middle-class. The “depths” of Daisy Miller that Kelley refers to could be read as “unsounded,” since the reader receives little insight to her
Daisy Miller is a story related by a young, American man named Winterborne, who lives mostly in Europe. Winterborne meets a lovely young lady named Daisy Miller at a Swiss resort in Vevey. He notices her naiveté, having no reservations about talking to strangers. He befriends this young girl very quickly. He would love to introduce her to his aunt, but she thinks that Daisy is common, vulgar, and refuses to meet her. Daisy and her family decide to leave the resort and visit Italy. Several months
a defiant, passionate, perfectly observant consciousness of the impression she produced. (43) The socialites in Daisy Miller's world aspire to a perfection, a nobility, and a superlative of character. But character is a misleading word; interiority is important only insofar as it reflects the assumed depths that come with an appearance of refinement, for the relationships in "Daisy Miller: A Study" are formed by observation, not by conversation. Winterbourne's penetrating gaze dissects and complicates
Relationship of Gatsby and Daisy in The Great Gatsby At the heart of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, there is a theme of desire, an unshakable quest by Jay Gatsby set in motion by the beauty of Daisy Buchanan. Yet, when Jay and Daisy are together, considerable awkwardness is displayed between these two characters, and this awkward atmosphere is primarily the result of the actions of Jay Gatsby. The uncomfortable relationship between Gatsby and Daisy is evidenced during a meeting
Driving Miss Daisy This is a report on the story "Driving Miss Daisy". The main characters are Daisy Werthan, Boolie Werthan, and Hoke Colborn. Alfred Uhry wrote the play. It started in nineteen forty-eight and ended in nineteen seventy-three. It’s a play based on a female Jew, which is Daisy Werthan, which passes the ages of seventy-two to ninety-seven years old, and a black chauffeur named Hoke. Daisy’s son Boolie is stuck in between Daisy’s prejudice and Hoke. Here goes. Daisy showed her first
The story of Daisy Miller, by Henry James, is told by a male narrator. This male figure serves to reveal the deep seated stasis in much social interaction which existed in the Nineteenth Century. Winterbourne is the protagonist and 'filters' through his impressions of the heroine Daisy Miller so that we never see Daisy except through the qualifying prose of Winterbourne himself. Thus by the end of the tale, we feel we have not met Daisy at all. We have only caught glimpses of this transient
beauty; she had many chances to live the kind of life she dreamed of, but lost it all. Similarly, Henry James’ “Daisy Miller,” is a rich, young, American girl from New York, traveling around Europe with her mother and younger brother. Daisy is a complex combination of traits. She is feisty, independent, and well intentioned, yet she is also petty, ignorant, and unsophisticated. Daisy is also an irritating flirt. She has no public elegance or informal gifts, such as appeal, humor, and a talent for
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
Society continually places specific and often restrictive standards on the female gender. While modern women have overcome many unfair prejudices, late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century women were forced to deal with a less than understanding culture. Different people had various ways of voicing their opinions concerning gender inequalities, including expressing themselves through literature. By writing a fictional story, authors like Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Henry James were given the
are a group of people who --no matter how cocky and self- confident they seem-- have absolutely no idea of what they are doing (as many men and women of the 20's do not). Tom and Daisy are two examples. Daisy is a hospitable character who had a love for parties and tended to lose herself in them and the drinking. Daisy once said, "What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon, and the day after that, and the next thirty years?" This quote not only means she lives for one day at a time never thinking
Baylard, Dana Reece. "Daisy Miller." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. This article analyzes the traditional social expectations implemented in an ancient European setting that conflicted with the more unorthodox ways of Americans who were traveling in Europe. Baylard depicts Daisy Miller’s behavior in the novella as innocent, yet ignorant to the customs of sophisticated Europe. Baylard describes Daisy Miller’s repeated misjudgment from Geneva’s
The character of Daisy Buchanan has many instances where her life and love of herself, money, and materialism come into play. Daisy is constantly portrayed as someone who is only happy when things are being given to her and circumstances are going as she has planned them. Because of this, Daisy seems to be the character that turns Fitzgerald's story from a tale of wayward love to a saga of unhappy lives. Fitzgerald portrays Daisy as a "doomed" character from the very beginning of the novel. She seems
essentially "kill" freedom and liberty in order to create a social purity that is virtually impossible for humans to achieve, I believe that Puritanism would only add to the degradation of society today. The books The Scarlet Letter, Bartleby, and Daisy Miller exemplify this theory. Puritanism's ultimate goal was to essentially establish a religiously pure and socialistic community in which everyone would work for the good of one another. However, Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter contradicts the
To the casual fan of Fitzgerald, it may be tempting to equate Daisy with Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald. After all, she was his wife and apparent love of his life. In actuality, though, Daisy is a composite of Zelda and Fitzgerald's first great, unrequited love, Generva King; in fact, in a number of ways, Fitzgerald's characterization of Daisy tends to favor Generva. Before delving further into this topic, however, it is important to note that Fitzgerald was, in the words of Bruccoli, "an impressionistic
Daisy Miller starts out in a hotel in Vevey, Switzerland when a gentleman named Winterbourne meets Daisy, a young, beautiful American girl traveling through Europe. Daisy, her younger brother Randolph and her mother, Mrs. Miller, are traveling all over Europe while her father is home in Schenectady, New York. While Daisy is in Europe, she does not accept European ideas to be her own. Winterbourne, to the contrary, has been living in Europe since he left America when he was younger. Winterbourne takes
Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson of The Great Gatsby In the novel, The Great Gatsby, the two central women presented are Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. These two women, although different, have similar personalities. Throughout the novel, there are instances in which the reader feels bad for and dislikes both Daisy and Myrtle. These two women portray that wealth is better than everything else, and they both base their lives on it. Also the novel shows the hardships and difficulties they
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
The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, there are many dynamic and round characters which greatly add to the story's theme. One character, Daisy Fay Buchannon, is made essential by way of her relation to the theme. An integral part of the plot, Daisy conveys the meaning of the novel, with her multi-dimensional personality and her relation to the conflicts. Daisy Buchannon is a round and dynamic character with many different sides to her personality. Early on in the book, she is portrayed as sweet