Transcendentalism In Daisy Miller

Until the 1860s, people of the United States as well as in Europe had been influenced by various literary movements. These included the Renaissance, Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Transcendentalism movements. Each movement consisted of characteristics and philosophies that molded the minds of people that were willing to follow them. However, the first ideology that really stimulated its followers to better themselves as well as society was Realism. In literature, authors would create an image of America in which they showed not only the big picture, but included details of society such as the social classes and structure. The Realism movement impacted American culture, society, and literature by giving attention to detail and exposing the
This gave him the liberty to compare the United States and Europe from the outside looking in, in terms of values and morals. In one of his more famous novels, Daisy Miller, James analyzes the social themes of the two and concludes that Europeans tend to be more stiff, knowledgable, and therefore evil. Americans, on the other hand, are more innocent and free. James describes the character of Daisy as "an extraordinary mixture of innocence and crudity" (37). The American deals mostly with personal happiness, the diversity of cultures, and their own ignorance. These traits are evident in the United States and this novel exposes the difference in them once a person visits Europe. Both James and Howells had the common goal of stimulating positive change in society. Their methods for doing so, however, were different. Howells' characters and themes were created to inspire readers to be good people, whereas James was more critical of society. Both strategies were equally effective, giving people a feeling of pride in themselves, helping them believe that they can improve their lives and those of others. Realism deals with everyday life and centers itself around the here and now. Both authors strive to incorporate these characteristics into their
Prior to the Realist movement, most authors didn't acknowledge the flaws in society and refrained from describing the realities of the outside world. Twain's Huckleberry Finn is the best representation of this literary movement in his writing. In this novel, Huck is a 13 year old boy who is thrown into the wild and must survive any way he knows how. The brutality he witnesses and his way of life throughout the story would seem unreal to readers. He gets mistreated, abandoned, and is pushed to steal from others in order to stay alive. Readers had never heard of such atrocities, and events like these to happen to a boy like Huck made them realize how unfair the world truly was. Jim (Huck's slave) is another main character in this story, and Huck sacrifices himself various times for Jim's safety, showing his unselfishness and maturity. Jim shows his appreciation to Huck in key scenes of this book, especially when he said, "Dah you goes, de ole true Huck; de on'y white genlman dat ever kep' his promise to ole Jim" (222). The "duke" and "dauphin" are con artists and minor characters, but are an influential to Huck as well as the readers. Their schemes take away the readers' innocence, showing them the true nature of the world. A world that is cruel, unfair, and