The Rise Of Silas Lapham Analysis

Among the several key elements of The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells, such as the importance of reading both worthy literature and understanding social cues coupled with practicing ethical business, there is another aspect that lies just behind the most obvious facets of the novel. Although Howells places a heavy emphasis throughout the novel on reading good literature that avoids sentimentality, he also implicitly conveys that along with becoming highly literate comes the crucial significance of being able to articulate not only your spoken language but also your mannerisms, etiquette, tastes, and values that encompass language in its entirety. While Howells does not put as much emphasis on articulation as he does on the reading

It is important to note that his mimicry is not just in behavior but also in the identity associated with the higher class. Silas does not just want to act like them; he wants to be them. Once Silas has been seated at the table, symbolizing his willing participation in the game orchestrated by the Coreys to expose him as the common man he is, he feels that the only way he can possibly keep up with the members of high society around him is to "keep a sharp lookout" and do "only what the others did" (190). He notices that Bellingham tucks a napkin into his collar, and so Lapham "put his napkin into his collar too" (190), mimicking the articulation of Bellingham’s habits. However, with Silas now plagued with self-doubt and insecurity about his own articulation, he takes out the napkin "slyly" (190) because nobody else is doing it. It is interesting that Howells used the adjective "slyly" here; the word's negative connotations lend to the idea that Silas is also playing his own game with the Coreys, pushing his own agenda of elevating his social status, albeit it is not a successful one so far. Despite his inability to fully comprehend the articulation of elevated society, Silas recognizes that he is at a significant disadvantage in the complex environment around him, forcing him to scrutinize the

As he spirals, the more the articulation of the common man comes through his fading disposition; as a contrast to earlier in the dinner where he withheld his tongue, he can now speak on "something he was clear of" even though he is still unable to follow a "great deal of the talk" (201). This "something" that Silas references is his civil war experience that instantly changes the tone, pace, and mood of the party with the weight of "Something serious, something somber" (201). Silas' struggle for articulation is ironically transformed into a failure for articulation the moment he has something to say. With Silas no longer able to read the social situation or understand the language of the aristocrats, he slips back into the only thing he knows how to be clear about: the common man. Furthermore, he even has the urge to “speak up and say that he had been there” in the position of the “’hard-working poor”’ man and “knew how such a man felt” (194). As a result of reverting back to the common man, Silas ends up dumping the burdensome discussion of war, insulting the nuances of the flow of proper conversation that are crucial in these settings of high-class society. However, Silas’ descent into the common man does not stop there; instead of simply not