Literary Analysis for Henry James - 1 views

started by Melanie Reyes on 22 Feb 11

#1 Melanie Reyes on 22 Feb 11

Henry James is the author to a wide variety of short novels. He is more known for writing on his own views for European and Americans' society, culture, and class status (Liukkonen). But he spices up one of his novellas by writing a different type of novella, a ghost story. A little change in pace, James decides to veer away from his norm but continues to portray his writing in the same literary elements. The genre changes completely from differing societies to a ghost story, but his style of writing remains the same. He still continues to incorporate exaggeration, comparisons, foreshadowing, and exaggeration in Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw.
Daisy Miller is about the European and American clash of love and how much more sophisticated the European style is because of the more modest and private approach. His comparisons are over exaggerated and create the juxtaposition that is much emphasized throughout the novella. James creates the contrasting cultures by explaining that Daisy thought of herself as more of a superior because she was America; but little did she know, Winterbourne was from America and was visiting. But James emphasizes on the differences and eggs on the behavior by presenting the characters unalike. James quotes,
"Winterbourne presently risked an observation upon the beauty
of the view. He was ceasing to be embarrassed; for he had begun to perceive that she was not in the least embarrassed herself. There had not been the slightest alteration in her charming complexion; she was evidently neither offended nor flattered. If she looked another way when he spoke to her, and seemed not particularly to hear him, this was simply her habit, her manner" (James). This exaggerates the fact that Daisy was not
interested in the commonness of Winterbourne. She carried herself with poise and seemed more special than any other neighborhood woman. Having both characters interacting so closely together amplified James's way of his overstatement in the novella.
The ghost story from The Turn of the Screw was also overwhelmingly exaggerated. This allowed the reader to understand the different view that James had for his unique ghost story. He created a thriller by making a ghost story that in reality could not be a ghost story at all and just an imagination (Beidler 2). Although both of the novellas are not alike by means of the story line, the exaggeration and how Henry James placed the exaggerated situations played a prominent role in the novellas. In introducing the ghost to the reader, James elaborates on the meeting, "I became aware that on the other side of the Sea of Azof we had an interested spectator… and yet without direct vision the presence, a good way off, of a third person" (James 40). This thought comes from the governess who never really knew if there was really a ghost or not. She exaggerates what is really in front of her or what is not; and creates her own exaggerated situation. Henry James captures the moment of this and not only continues to do so in the rest of the novella but is able to incorporate the exaggeration in his other novella in Daisy Miller.
The Turn of the Screw was a different side to Henry James's "normal" writing genre of cultures. There were so many critical scenes that took place in this novella that the whole plot seemed to be a show because of the imagination of the governess to the supposed real sightings of the ghost. The encountering of the ghost and the governess had an important element in the story. It allowed the reader to question if the apparitions were present or not just from the governess's interpretations. This novella entertained the sighting of a ghost, it dramatically made the characters juxtapose from the beginning to the end in each major sighting. "So she disturbed you… [but] you also looked - you saw… [I] caught your death in the night air" (James 66). From The Turn of the Screw, there was also major foreshadowing. The thought of a ghost left everyone reading on a cliffhanger along with the characters. Their experiences with ghosts brought together the characters' dramatized experiences and helped develop the story's plot. There are so much to this plot that brings the foreshadowing to the front and center of the plot.
The conversation between the governess and one of his students is highly dramatic. The position they were in was far from death, but the drama that the characters add on are for emphasis to the novella. They both seem to know that something strange has happened but they do not act on it besides creating drama for themselves. The more James integrates the ghost material, the more off of their chair the readers will get. The Turn of the Screw fits in so much drama to the plot that James's idea of a ghost story turns into a drama filled adventure.
Daisy in Daisy Miller was the epitome of the drama queen. Her dramatic personality was important to the plot because it made the readers get to know her more. It was vital to understand that she was from America and searching for her mate was different than the typical European findings. She only wanted the best; she traded in Winterbourne who was one of the most eligible bachelors visiting there, for even a less attractive man that would fit all her needs money wise. Compared to the European and American culture, there was much more to the sophistication than what James believed the Americans' love was like. Daisy claimed all this superiority because of her background experience from America. "She asked him if he was a "real American," she shouldn't have taken him for one; he seemed more like a German… especially when he spoke" (James). She thought she knew better even if he was really from America. She figured her own experience varied from the other "world" and was far more superior in class. From her own personality she displays James's way of portraying a typical "American" girl. There was more to her than meets the eye but James decided to be more superficial about it. Just like in Turn of the Screw there were more superficial appearances that were brought to the plot rather than the importance of the situation. In this instance the governess was thinking to herself if there was really a ghost. James explains:
"I was conscious of a mortal coldness and felt as if I should never again be warm. So when he appeared I was sitting in the glow with my thoughts. He paused a moment by the door as if to look at me; then as if to share them… We sat there in absolute stillness; yet he wanted, I felt, to be with me" (James 102). The governess claims there was something
there but in reality there may have not been. The superficial appearance of a ghost was brought to the table and really explains that the appearance was not actually there, but the feeling. Both novellas had different experiences with the appearance of a character but embodied the importance in different ways.
There were many comparisons in both Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw. In Daisy Miller the two differing cultures go head to head in the elegance factor to up one another. Most of what was going on was just an extended metaphor that defined the purpose of the novella. The story line was not just about the difference in society but that the two love story ended in tragedy because there was no real communication. She had karma coming to her since she just used Giovanelli, the man who she was supposed to marry. This broadened the characters feel for each other and helped to develop all the relationships in the novella. Daisy was a metaphor. She was "innocent and uncultured but [people] only see the surface of her actions" because they were so blunt and different (Peterson 4). She was not afraid to stay out late with men or hang out with men even if they were not her husband. Daisy was a single woman who stood beyond herself. Metaphorically, she stood for what James wanted the readers but the characters also to think of her as. The Turn of the Screw also had an extended metaphor as one of the main purposes. The distraction from the ghosts called for this style of writing adding metaphors into the mix. The situation of metaphorically explaining what the ghost represents is how James depicts his extended metaphor. He explains that what is seen is not always what is there. The imagination that never explicitly says what is there but the metaphor that there could be. James compares the imagination to reality. It is hard to see what James may actually mean but what is left up to the reader is known. What is real? The difference in the metaphors was really only what they were comparing, but how he used the metaphor was the same in both novellas. How James incorporated the extended metaphor was almost as a symbol for both, standing beyond itself whether it be about Daisy or imagination and reality, both novellas achieve their metaphoric understanding.
Imagery was a huge role in both novellas to really capture what James wanted to describe in each of the situations. It was essential to paint the picture of what is going on whether it is about the ghosts in sight and how the characters felt or the fight and conversation that Daisy and Winterbourne talk about, both pictures are necessary to the novellas. The attention to detail is helping the story bring the plot into perspective. The imagination that James brings to the books elaborates for the ghost experiences in The Turn of the Screw. There was much attention that he chose to bring up in the novella. James wrote about the narrator's feeling, "…just the scrutiny through the fading light…breaking the hush…with both hands on the ledge. So I saw him…" (James 24-25). The way the ghost looked, how the room felt when the ghost was there, and how the ghost came about was all documented into the novella's plot. The imagery brought forth in the novella thoroughly establishes the tone for the rest of the plot. The feel for what the characters are experiencing aid to reward the novella in its success. For Daisy Miller, each character was brought to so much attention, especially Daisy herself. Because the novella explained the major differences from European to American much of the differences came from James's use of imagery and attention to detail. He explains the beauty of Daisy, her "extremely pretty hands ornamented with brilliant rings, folded in her lap and with her pretty eyes…quiet [and] charming, her lips and eyes were constantly moving"(James). He constantly reminded the audience of her charm and beauty. James elaboration on the appearance of her and Giovanelli versus Winterbourne brought tension to the pages.
The similarities and differences brought from both books display James's ability to really focus on the important part of books: the style. He still sticks to what he knows and is able to capture any audience to a variety of genres. James stepped out of the box to develop The Turn of the Screw and stayed with his routine production in Daisy Miller. There were many similarities that had gone through each novella, whether it was about foreshadowing, exaggeration, dramatization, or imagery James understood a good story needed all these aspects even if the genre changed. There were differences like the complete genre but this changed nothing to the readers that enjoy his style of writing.

Works Cited
Beidler, Peter G. "Henry James's The Turn of the Screw." Coffeetown Press. 28 Jan. 2010. Web.
21 Feb. 2011. .
James, Henry. "Daisy Miller, by Henry James - Full Text Free Book." FullBooks.com -
Thousands of Full-Text Free Books. Web. 21 Feb. 2011.
.
James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. London: J.M Dent, 1935. Print.
Liukkonen, Petri. "Henry James." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. Books and Writers, 2008. Web. 21 Feb.
2011. .
Peterson, Cameron. "Daisy Miller Themes | GradeSaver." Study Guides & Essay Editing GradeSaver. 21 Aug. 2000. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. .

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Henry James is the author to a wide variety of short novels. He is more known for writing on his own views for European and Americans' society, culture, and class status (Liukkonen). But he spices up one of his novellas by writing a different type of novella, a ghost story. A little change in pace, James decides to veer away from his norm but continues to portray his writing in the same literary elements. The genre changes completely from differing societies to a ghost story, but his style of writing remains the same. He still continues to incorporate exaggeration, comparisons, foreshadowing, and exaggeration in Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw. Daisy Miller is about the European and American clash of love and how much more sophisticated the European style is because of the more modest and private approach. His comparisons are over exaggerated and create the juxtaposition that is much emphasized throughout the novella. James creates the contrasting cultures by explaining that Daisy thought of herself as more of a superior because she was America; but little did she know, Winterbourne was from America and was visiting. But James emphasizes on the differences and eggs on the behavior by presenting the characters unalike. James quotes, "Winterbourne presently risked an observation upon the beauty of the view. He was ceasing to be embarrassed; for he had begun to perceive that she was not in the least embarrassed herself. There had not been the slightest alteration in her charming complexion; she was evidently neither offended nor flattered. If she looked another way when he spoke to her, and seemed not particularly to hear him, this was simply her habit, her manner" (James). This exaggerates the fact that Daisy was not interested in the commonness of Winterbourne. She carried herself with poise and seemed more special than any other neighborhood woman. Having both characters interacting so closely together amplified James's way of his overstatement in the novella. The ghost story from The Turn of the Screw was also overwhelmingly exaggerated. This allowed the reader to understand the different view that James had for his unique ghost story. He created a thriller by making a ghost story that in reality could not be a ghost story at all and just an imagination (Beidler 2). Although both of the novellas are not alike by means of the story line, the exaggeration and how Henry James placed the exaggerated situations played a prominent role in the novellas. In introducing the ghost to the reader, James elaborates on the meeting, "I became aware that on the other side of the Sea of Azof we had an interested spectator… and yet without direct vision the presence, a good way off, of a third person" (James 40). This thought comes from the governess who never really knew if there was really a ghost or not. She exaggerates what is really in front of her or what is not; and creates her own exaggerated situation. Henry James captures the moment of this and not only continues to do so in the rest of the novella but is able to incorporate the exaggeration in his other novella in Daisy Miller. The Turn of the Screw was a different side to Henry James's "normal" writing genre of cultures. There were so many critical scenes that took place in this novella that the whole plot seemed to be a show because of the imagination of the governess to the supposed real sightings of the ghost. The encountering of the ghost and the governess had an important element in the story. It allowed the reader to question if the apparitions were present or not just from the governess's interpretations. This novella entertained the sighting of a ghost, it dramatically made the characters juxtapose from the beginning to the end in each major sighting. "So she disturbed you… [but] you also looked - you saw… [I] caught your death in the night air" (James 66). From The Turn of the Screw, there was also major foreshadowing. The thought of a ghost left everyone reading on a cliffhanger along with the characters. Their experiences with ghosts brought together the characters' dramatized experiences and helped develop the story's plot. There are so much to this plot that brings the foreshadowing to the front and center of the plot. The conversation between the governess and one of his students is highly dramatic. The position they were in was far from death, but the drama that the characters add on are for emphasis to the novella. They both seem to know that something strange has happened but they do not act on it besides creating drama for themselves. The more James integrates the ghost material, the more off of their chair the readers will get. The Turn of the Screw fits in so much drama to the plot that James's idea of a ghost story turns into a drama filled adventure. Daisy in Daisy Miller was the epitome of the drama queen. Her dramatic personality was important to the plot because it made the readers get to know her more. It was vital to understand that she was from America and searching for her mate was different than the typical European findings. She only wanted the best; she traded in Winterbourne who was one of the most eligible bachelors visiting there, for even a less attractive man that would fit all her needs money wise. Compared to the European and American culture, there was much more to the sophistication than what James believed the Americans' love was like. Daisy claimed all this superiority because of her background experience from America. "She asked him if he was a "real American," she shouldn't have taken him for one; he seemed more like a German… especially when he spoke" (James). She thought she knew better even if he was really from America. She figured her own experience varied from the other "world" and was far more superior in class. From her own personality she displays James's way of portraying a typical "American" girl. There was more to her than meets the eye but James decided to be more superficial about it. Just like in Turn of the Screw there were more superficial appearances that were brought to the plot rather than the importance of the situation. In this instance the governess was thinking to herself if there was really a ghost. James explains: "I was conscious of a mortal coldness and felt as if I should never again be warm. So when he appeared I was sitting in the glow with my thoughts. He paused a moment by the door as if to look at me; then as if to share them… We sat there in absolute stillness; yet he wanted, I felt, to be with me" (James 102). The governess claims there was something there but in reality there may have not been. The superficial appearance of a ghost was brought to the table and really explains that the appearance was not actually there, but the feeling. Both novellas had different experiences with the appearance of a character but embodied the importance in different ways. There were many comparisons in both Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw. In Daisy Miller the two differing cultures go head to head in the elegance factor to up one another. Most of what was going on was just an extended metaphor that defined the purpose of the novella. The story line was not just about the difference in society but that the two love story ended in tragedy because there was no real communication. She had karma coming to her since she just used Giovanelli, the man who she was supposed to marry. This broadened the characters feel for each other and helped to develop all the relationships in the novella. Daisy was a metaphor. She was "innocent and uncultured but [people] only see the surface of her actions" because they were so blunt and different (Peterson 4). She was not afraid to stay out late with men or hang out with men even if they were not her husband. Daisy was a single woman who stood beyond herself. Metaphorically, she stood for what James wanted the readers but the characters also to think of her as. The Turn of the Screw also had an extended metaphor as one of the main purposes. The distraction from the ghosts called for this style of writing adding metaphors into the mix. The situation of metaphorically explaining what the ghost represents is how James depicts his extended metaphor. He explains that what is seen is not always what is there. The imagination that never explicitly says what is there but the metaphor that there could be. James compares the imagination to reality. It is hard to see what James may actually mean but what is left up to the reader is known. What is real? The difference in the metaphors was really only what they were comparing, but how he used the metaphor was the same in both novellas. How James incorporated the extended metaphor was almost as a symbol for both, standing beyond itself whether it be about Daisy or imagination and reality, both novellas achieve their metaphoric understanding. Imagery was a huge role in both novellas to really capture what James wanted to describe in each of the situations. It was essential to paint the picture of what is going on whether it is about the ghosts in sight and how the characters felt or the fight and conversation that Daisy and Winterbourne talk about, both pictures are necessary to the novellas. The attention to detail is helping the story bring the plot into perspective. The imagination that James brings to the books elaborates for the ghost experiences in The Turn of the Screw. There was much attention that he chose to bring up in the novella. James wrote about the narrator's feeling, "…just the scrutiny through the fading light…breaking the hush…with both hands on the ledge. So I saw him…" (James 24-25). The way the ghost looked, how the room felt when the ghost was there, and how the ghost came about was all documented into the novella's plot. The imagery brought forth in the novella thoroughly establishes the tone for the rest of the plot. The feel for what the characters are experiencing aid to reward the novella in its success. For Daisy Miller, each character was brought to so much attention, especially Daisy herself. Because the novella explained the major differences from European to American much of the differences came from James's use of imagery and attention to detail. He explains the beauty of Daisy, her "extremely pretty hands ornamented with brilliant rings, folded in her lap and with her pretty eyes…quiet [and] charming, her lips and eyes were constantly moving"(James). He constantly reminded the audience of her charm and beauty. James elaboration on the appearance of her and Giovanelli versus Winterbourne brought tension to the pages. The similarities and differences brought from both books display James's ability to really focus on the important part of books: the style. He still sticks to what he knows and is able to capture any audience to a variety of genres. James stepped out of the box to develop The Turn of the Screw and stayed with his routine production in Daisy Miller. There were many similarities that had gone through each novella, whether it was about foreshadowing, exaggeration, dramatization, or imagery James understood a good story needed all these aspects even if the genre changed. There were differences like the complete genre but this changed nothing to the readers that enjoy his style of writing. Works Cited Beidler, Peter G. "Henry James's The Turn of the Screw." Coffeetown Press. 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. <http: />. James, Henry. "Daisy Miller, by Henry James - Full Text Free Book." FullBooks.com - Thousands of Full-Text Free Books. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. <http: />. James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. London: J.M Dent, 1935. Print. Liukkonen, Petri. "Henry James." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. Books and Writers, 2008. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. <http: />. Peterson, Cameron. "Daisy Miller Themes | GradeSaver." Study Guides & Essay Editing GradeSaver. 21 Aug. 2000. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. <http: />.</div>

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