James's Use Of Realism In The Beast In The Jungle

In this story, James uses realism to show a lot of meaning behind everything that he writes. “The term realism refers to a movement in English, European, and American literature that gathered force from the 1830’s to the end of the century” (Norton p.9). James is also known for psychological realism which is shown when the actual plot is not only secondary, but arises from the motives, fears, and reactions of characters to the dilemmas that confront them.” James also focused on the lives of the upper class, hoping to convince readers that the inner lives of the privileged were in accord with the truths of human nature”(p.9) ‘‘The Beast in the Jungle’’ is a story about a man who believes in fate, most particularly his own: ‘‘It isn’t a …show more content…
The reader is privy to Marcher’s thoughts, but the narrating voice declines to comment on these thoughts. In this respect, James is known as an innovator. Because of having this detached narrator, we can see what's going on in Marchers head. He over analyzes everything and is always worried about what's going to happen next instead of living in the moment. The titular ‘‘beast’’ of James’s story is, in one respect, as ironic a symbol as the story itself is ironic. Since Marcher believes he is a man who is destined for something exceptional but is rather a man ‘‘to whom nothing on earth was to have happened,’’ it is ironic that the image that haunts his life is an image of a wild and vital creature. In this view, the pathos of Marcher’s life is brought home vividly. Marcher tells himself that May has no meaning to him and that he is not in love with her because he did not remember her from when they previously met in Italy. But really she has been the most consistent thing in his life, and she obviously loves him. Marcher does not see that he loves her too, until after she dies. Marcher is a strange man, who seems to be unaware of any life going on outside of himself, and as we read we realize that Marcher really has no idea of what's going on within his own mind. But James shows us how Marcher deals with the reality that eventually hits

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James's Use Of Realism In The Beast In The Jungle

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Department of English Spring 2014 Course Descriptions Essays