Henry James Research Paper

“Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself” -Henry James (Brainyquote.com). Henry James was one who would rather observe everything he knew rather than just believe someone giving him the information. He wanted to experience everything for himself. “Henry James identified the middle of the 19th century as the "golden age" for Americans” (PBS.org). Henry James was a significant part of American Literature due to his real life experiences, his writings that were working to defy normal traditions of society, and his dedication to doing what he loved to do. He was driven to be the best writer he could be, and to do so he worked hard at jobs he didn't necessarily like to gain money

In his earlier writings, during the time of the Civil War, the war was his main topic. He grew up around a father whom wrote many journal items and works. His dad also imposed the thought of “the need for self-renunciation to produce a finer good” (PBS.org). This had an impact on his career, as most kids look up to their parents and aspire to be like them. His dad’s words stuck with him into his adult life, and later into his novels. One day he was introduced to a group of writers by Ivan Turgenev, who was also a writer. He introduced Henry to Edmond de Goncourt, Emile Zola, Alphonse Daudet, and Maupassant. All of these writers he looked up to and their ideas and works greatly influenced his. Turgenev taught him an important lesson of focusing on the character to create a more realistic, relatable, and in depth novel. Society was a big impact on James’s works. The injustice, corruption, and rejecting of traditions were broadcasted in many novels of his (PBS.org). A good example of this is his book Daisy Miller he wrote in 1879. This was a story of a girl struggling to fit into the expectations of European traditions she's expected to. Another example is The Bostonians he wrote in 1886. Society's injustice towards women and the rise of feminism was the main topic for this work (famousauthors.org). Although he was born into a financially stable family, he still wanted to be

Going back to the start of his career would bring you to his magazine editing times. This got his funds up to allow him to travel and write. In 1866 his family moved to Cambridge, here James met the editor of Atlantic Monthly, Howells (McElderry). Howells kickstarted his career. In 1871 he released his first short novel, Watch and Ward. At this time he was still doing magazine articles, and traveled to Canada on a business trip. From this time until 1875 he spent his time traveling to England, France, and Switzerland. In 1875 he started living in New York. Here he began working for the New York Tribune. Later this year he moved to Paris where he came in contact with Turgenev and the other authors. He also published a collection of short stories called A Passionate Pilgrim and his first novel Roderick Hudson. In 1877 he traveled to Paris and Rome and published “The American”. 1878 was a busy year for him, he published many works such as Watch and Ward in book form, The Europeans, and Daisy Miller in a magazine (McElderry). Daisy Miller is one of his most well known novels. This story is about a girl struggling to fit into the expectations of European traditions she's supposed to. The young girl is an American, and the traditions she's suppose to live up to aren't easy for her (Famousauthors.org). In 1879 he met back up with Turgenev in London and later visited Paris again. That year he published