Thought and Daisy Miller Essay

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Amanda Scott
Professor Mandley
English 253
30, November
Realism

At the middle of the 19th century, American Literature made a huge shift from Romanticism to Realism. Realism, is exactly what it sounds like, it is real, it is straight forward and to the point, no sugar coating For a story to be considered apart of the Realism time period of American Literature, it must contain three different important elements. These are focus on the character as an individual, the ability of the character to make their own choices and the thought process the character is going through in the story(Lecture 1). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the three aspects realism in American Literature in the short story Daisy Miller by Henry James. In many of Henry James short stories the readers feel as if they are there in the story, being held in that exact moment that James is writing about. The short story, Daisy Miller is a true testament to what realism in American Literature is. Realism is apparent all the way through this story, and Henry James shows this idea as he focuses on characters as individuals and their experiences in middle and upper class society, their ability to make their own choices, and what they are thinking through the entire story. Making the characters seem human is very important when it comes to American Literature, and the story Daisy Miller is filled with this experience. In this story, the character Daisy Miller, is really shown as more an individual and less a typical woman in society. One example of Daisy’s independence is her refusal to not follow the rules of society. James writes: “The young ladies of this country have a dreadfully poky time of it, so far as I can learn; I don’t see why I should change my habits for them” (James). The ability of Daisy to think for herself and make her own choices is an important part of realism as well. She enjoys living in the moment and gets excited by doing this. A wonderful example of this in the story is when they are visiting the castle and she meets a handsome strangers and goes on an adventure with this stranger. She made her own choice to go out on this adventure knowing she was putting herself in danger, however did this for herself and no one else. The final
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