Daisy Miller

Some questions and issues you might think about:
Twain and James are both considered archetypal “Realists,” yet there are many obvious differences between their texts. What are connections or distinctions, in terms of style, subject matter, thematic concerns, etc.? How does each author rely on irony as a rhetorical device, and what is the effect of this irony? If Huck represents a certain kind of “American,” in what ways does Daisy represent another typically American figure? How is the word “American” used and invoked within the text? What kind of a narrator is Winterbourne? What role does social class play in the novel, and how do such factors as style, taste, language, national identity, and money intersect with the idea of class? How does the oft-repeated maxim that “knowledge is power” emerge within this story?

Links

A fascinating website that you might find useful is “Mark Twain in His Times,” maintained by Professor Stephen Railton at the University of Virginia. There you’ll find a lot of information about Twain (Sam Clemens) himself, as well as the historical contexts surrounding the publication of the novel. Some other interesting sites include The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut and PBS’s website devoted to Ken Burns’s documentary about Twain.

The ending…

Many critics have complained about the so-called “evasion episode” at the end of Huck Finn. Does Tom’s return undermine any development that Huck has experienced as a character? Many readers find it frustrating that Huck fails to stand up to Tom’s increasingly idiotic “plans” to free Jim. Given Huck’s dramatic decision to “go to hell” rather than turn Jim in, it seems strange that he won’t just help Jim escape, instead of going along with Tom. What explanation do you have for this?

Huck Finn

What do you think has made this novel so compelling to readers, even while it has always attracted such controversy? What (if any) elements of the novel do you respond to as readers?

Greetings

Welcome to American Lit II. This is the course blog. I’ll be adding comments, observations, and questions and will invite you to respond with your comments (for credit, of course).