Washington Square Essays

  • Washington Square

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    Washington Square In Putt's book Henry James: A Readers Guide, he speaks in a chapter about Washington Square. Within this chapter he goes over the role that Catherine plays in the story. She ultimately chooses spinsterhood, and not to defy her father, and to be the good daughter. The theme of avoidance o f marriage, spinsterhood, is something that is focused on by James in much of his work (Putt 46). Putt dwells on the fact that the father was a cruel man, and gives extraneously long quotes

  • Washington Square

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    Washington Square I’m depressed. Well, how could I not be? I just finished reading Washington Square. I’m happy it’s over, but I’m not happy I finished it. No, that doesn’t make sense does it? Lets just say, I had a feeling how it was going to end up; I just hoped that I would be wrong. Unfortunately the one time I didn’t want to be right I was. Isn’t that the way it always works? I guess so. Catherine, dear plain old, Catherine. Poor girl, father thinks she’s plain, she thinks she’s

  • The Immortal Villain of Washington Square

    2184 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Immortal Villain of Washington Square In Washington Square, Henry James confronts us with an exceptionally hopeless kind of tragedy. The oppressive circumstances of protagonists usually arise from failures of individual or social enlightenment. Such stories are optimistic to the extent that they suggest that progress might eventually lift mankind beyond the scope of the type of situations depicted. In Washington Square, however, truth itself is the oppressor -- a universal truth of human

  • Character in Henry James's Washington Square

    507 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Question of Character in Henry James's Washington Square After reading Henry James's Washington Square, I was left a bit curious as to why James had so many static characters in his novel. Character development is a major literary device in most works, but was almost completely ignored in this book. I say almost because Catherine's demeanor seems to, even if just to the most subtle degree, drift towards an unphilanthropic attitude. Dr. Austin Sloper, his two sisters and poor Morris Townsend

  • Convention and Realism in Henry James’ Washington Square

    2404 Words  | 5 Pages

    Convention and Realism in Henry James’ Washington Square Realism, as described by William Dean Howells in the late nineteenth century, replaces the high art and style of the literature of the preceding decades by permitting such characters as Howells' Silas Lapham to have a distinct place in the pantheon of American literary characters. Fervently, Howells invoked the "truth" of the realist genre, writing, "ŒLet it portray men and women as they are, actuated by the motives and the passions in

  • Bette Howland's Criticism of Henry James's Washington Square

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    of Henry James's Washington Square 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

  • Catherine Sloper's Self-realization in Henry James' Washington Square

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    Catherine Sloper's Self-realization in Henry James' Washington Square In his essay, "Washington Square: A Study in the Growth of an Inner Self," James W. Gargano argues convincingly that the Henry James's novel, Washington Square, revolves around the emotional, psychological, and spiritual development of Catherine Sloper. With one small exception, Gargano makes his case so persuasively that it seems hard to believe that there could be any other view of Catherine and her role in the book. Yet

  • Henry James' ‘Washington Square

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    Henry James' ‘Washington Square In ‘Washington Square', Henry James used a refined technique of narration, language, symbolism and irony as he explored the psychological dimensions of his characters' actions, motivations and interpersonal relationships. He did so as he confronted the tragedy of the immorality of human beings, personified in the characters of Dr. Sloper and Morris Townsend, in dominating the spirit of Sloper's daughter, Catherine, for their own ends. In other works of fiction

  • Washington Square Betrayal Quotes

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    Betrayal is one of the most dominant themes in Washington Square. The betrayals range from high expectations which have been disappointed as well as promises which have been deliberately broken. In the first few chapters Catherine is extremely obedient of her father; Dr Sloper. She admires him greatly and places him on a high pedestal. He is the greatest authoritive figure to her. However, as the novel precedes, things change and Catherine loses her pure characteristics such as being honest. Her

  • Washington Square Park Research Paper

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    landmarks. Washington Square Park is used daily by the public for demonstrations, entertainment, a campus or simply a place to be idle nearly any time of the day. Many have argued that Washington Square is not a park or even a square but nonetheless, it is home to many for various demonstrations regarding political and social movements (Folple 1). It has become an important part of New York and their history due to its many protests that helped shape several legislations. Washington Square Park is

  • Washington Square Catherine Sloper Quotes

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Washington Square: Catherine Sloper: Victim of Austin Sloper, Morris Townsend, and Aunt Penniman At the beginning of Washington Square by Henry James , poor, plain Catherine is approached at a party by dashing and handsome Morris Townsend. Out of the blue he comes to her and starts to be entranced by her charms. She is alarmed, never having recognized any charms within herself to charm anyone, and pleased. The courtship soon begins. Catherine moves “outside” herself in loving Townsend, her love

  • Daisy Miller

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

  • Compare And Contrast Between Washington Square And Shopgirl

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    literature, both new and old, one of the most popular themes is love. Many novels, poems, and short stories explore this theme in every imaginable way. Henry James’s Washington Square and Steve Martin’s Shopgirl are worthy additions to this timeless tradition. The twist for these two novels is that both heroine’s, Catherine in Washington Square and Mirabelle in Shopgirl, fall for men that do not love them in return. At least the ladies’ love is not returned in the manner they expect. The novels were written

  • Relationship Between Washington Square And Trouble With The Curve

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    Washington Square & Trouble with the Curve Washington Square is a novel written by Henry James, published in 1880. It is a tragicomedy novel that tells about the conflict between a sweet, but stupid daughter and her unemotional father. The movie Trouble with the Curve was released in 2012 is a sports-drama movie, featuring Clint Eastwood. 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

  • Catherine's Conflicting Feelings in James' Washington Square

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many conflicting situations that give way to problems often arise in life. These problems often create conflicting feelings within an individual who tries to but cannot satisfy both of the opposing sides. The novella, Washington Square by Henry James, portrays this idea. The story follows Dr. Sloper who marries a clever woman who bears him a son. However, death seizes both the mother and child, leaving only his daughter, Catherine, who spends most of her life trying to please her father, but could

  • Essay On The Beatnik Riot

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1961, previous to the outbreak of Occupy Wall Streets of Greenwich Village’s Washington Square Park was filled with three–thousand young beatnik protestors. Playing instruments and singing folk music symbolized the starvation that these young folks wanted of freedom and equality for America. Protestors demonstrated mixed cultures, individualistic beliefs that went against the status quo of America after the post-war years. The Beatnik Riot involved young traditional Americans fighting not just

  • Ad Reinhardt Abstract Painting 19601965

    2055 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ad Reinhardt Abstract Painting 19601965 Ad Reinhardt's painting, Abstract Painting 1960-65, is at first glance' a black square canvas. The subject matter seems to be just what it is, a black painting. There are no people. No event or action is taken except for the fact that Reinhardt has made the painting. The title only provides us with the information that we are looking at an abstract painting. The only other information that the artist gives you is the time period, in which it was conceived

  • Investigating The Area Under A Curve

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    Counting Squares Method The first method I will use to find the area is the counting squares method. For this method I will draw the graph on cm paper and estimate the amount of squares that the area under the curve takes up. To do this I will first count all the whole squares, and then count all the half squares and divide that number by two to give a rough estimate of the area under the curve. Altogether I counted 10 whole squares and 14 half squares. When the half squares were divided

  • Deforestation and Biodiversity

    2666 Words  | 6 Pages

    over time are considerable, and they can be somewhat controversial. Depending on the source and the location selected, the magnitude of deforestation varies. Southwick estimates that, approximately 10,000 years ago, 6.2 billion hectares (23.9 million square miles) of forest existed on earth (p. 117). That figure is equivalent to 45.5% of the earth's total land. He further estimates that, by 1990, this amount had declined 30%, with only 4.3 billion hectares of forest remaining (p. 117). Southwick also

  • The Open Box Problem

    1643 Words  | 4 Pages

    made from a sheet of card. Identical squares are cut off the four corners of the card as shown in figure 1. Figure 1: [IMAGE] The card is then folded along the dotted lines to make the box. The main aim of this activity is to determine the size of the square cut out which makes the volume of the box as large as possible for any given rectangular sheet of card. 1. For any sized square sheet of card, investigate the size of the cut out square which makes an open box of the largest