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From Ferry Boats to Jumping Frogs

Mark Twain, renowned as one of the most talented and famous American authors of all time, has a list of literary works that includes novels, short stories, and lectures. Although critics view many of Twain’s works as American hallmarks, not all of his works have received fame and flattering reviews. For example, while A Dog’s Tale remains relatively unknown, lacking much literary criticism, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is considered one of Mark Twain’s most famous short stories and an American classic. The difference in the varying success and popularity of Mark Twain’s works is determined by the story’s audience, themes, and contrasting tones.

One of the main determining factors in a story’s success is how it is perceived by it’s audience, and the audience is something that is very different for Mark Twain’s stories. Before Mark Twain ever became a famous literary figure, he was just a river pilot on the Mississippi (Merriman). It was when Twain published The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County that he was whisked into the public limelight as a talented writer, gaining him fame and recognition, while at the same time giving him the boost that he needed to continue on with his writing career (“Mark Twain: The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”). However many years later, when Mark Twain wrote A Dog’s Tale, he had already been famous for some time. A Dog’s Tale was published in 1904, though it never became nearly as well known or popular as some of Twain’s previous works. So why is it that one of Twain’s short stories can make him famous while another had almost no effect on his career trajectory and is hardly read by anyone today? A large part of why The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is so much more popular and well known than A Dog’s Tale has to do with the audience of the two stories. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County was written for a newspaper called “The Territorial” in which Mark Twain and his fellow writers would actually have contests to see who could create the most absurd, yet still believable stories (“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”). So when writing The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Mark Twain was trying to appeal to an audience that would be entertained by such a tale. The audience reading “The Territorial” might be juvenile or just seeking a good laugh, but they were certainly not literary critics. Therefore, although The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County does contain a good deal of symbolism, figurative language, and themes that relate to the time period, it was made popular because of its humorous tone and characters that the audience can relate to. A Dog’s Tale, was aimed at a very difference audience. The audience of A Dog’s Tale would most likely be much more sophisticated and knowledgeable about current issues than that of many of Twain’s other works (Davey). Since the story is meant to be neither humorous nor entertaining, the audience is not just simply looking for a laugh or something to pass their time. While The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is primarily aimed at entertaining its audience, A Dog’s Tale requires the audience to think deeper about their morals and societal issues, and that is not very appealing to the general public. Therefore, although Twain was already a renowned writer by the time he wrote A Dog’s Tale, a large reason why the story was not made as popular as The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County was because the two stories were aimed at very different audiences.
Another important factor as to why some of Mark Twain’s stories became much more popular than others has to deal with the themes of the story. While A Dog’s Tale is characterized by its deep and meaningful themes, aimed at its sophisticated audience, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County has less complex and in-depth themes, aimed at a less scholarly audience. Some of the primary themes of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County are the intellectual difference between easterners and westerners, deception, and gambling (Ryan-Dey). These themes are themes that are not hard for a general or uneducated audience to relate to, therefore the story has a wider and more popular audience. On the contrary, A Dog’s Tale contains themes that are harder for a general audience to understand. Some of the themes of A Dog’s Tale include the use of language as a weapon, the evils of science, and slavery (Herzberg 20). Themes such as these are not easy to pull out of A Dog’s Tale, in fact they require a deep reading and analysis of the story, and this means that the story has a much smaller readership than some of Mark Twain’s other stories such as A Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. An important factor as to why Twain decided to write one story with more basic and understandable themes and another story with highly complex themes has to do with the cultural context of the stories. Because The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County was one of Twain’s first publications, he wanted to appeal to a popular audience in order to get his name flowing in the literary world and become more well known. In order to appeal to a popular audience, he knew that the story needed to have entertaining themes that were relative to the cultural time period. However because A Dog’s Tale was written later on in Twain’s career, it was Twain’s main interest to appeal to a more sophisticated audience and so he wrote a story with controversial themes that were much harder to decipher. While the themes of Mark Twain’s stories do make a difference in how popular the story is, the aspect of the story that makes the biggest difference in its popularity is whether or not the story can make the reader laugh.
A major and noticeable difference when comparing the stories of Mark Twain is the stark contrast in tone between many of his stories. A Dog’s Tale and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County are perfect examples of the contrasting tones of Mark Twain. While A Dog’s Tale displays a serious, somber, and sophisticated tone, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is characterized by a more humorous and entertaining tone (Davey). A large factor in what kind of tone a story displays are the themes of the story and the events of the story. Because A Dog’s Tale contains more complex and divisive themes, the tone of the story is more serious and scholarly. A serious tone is certainly not a bad thing, in fact the story’s themes have more of a resonating effect when displayed through a somber tone. However one major consequence of a serious and scholarly tone is a smaller readership, because there are less people who want to read one of Mark Twain’s short stories that have a serious tone than there are that want to read one of his stories that have a humorous tone. One of the most important reasons why The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County became so famous so quickly is because people actually wanted to read it. People are interested in reading a story that will make them laugh. The story contains humorous scenarios and characters that readers can laugh at (“Mark Twain: The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”). In this way, readers can relate to the story while being entertained, which makes the story very pleasant to read. This means that the tone of the story, something determined by both the themes of the story, the language of the story, and the events of the story, actually plays a huge role in determining how popular the story is going to be.

Although Mark Twain is commonly regarded as one of the most talented and popular American authors to ever live, not all of his stories are as popular as he is. The main factors that separate Mark Twain’s most famous stories from his least popular stories are the stories audiences, themes, and use of a humorous versus somber tone. Along with these three main factors, the cultural context of the stories, such as Mark Twain’s career path, also has a significant effect on the success of the story. The correlation between Twain’s writing styles and the relative popularity of his works are clearly displayed through the comparison of A Dog’s Tale and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

Works Cited 

Herzberg, Gary S. “A Dog’s Tale: An Expanded View.” Mark Twain Journal. Winter 1977-1978: 20.           Print. 


 “Mark Twain: The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Tu-chemnitz.de. N.P. N.D. Web. 5 October 2011. 


 Davey, Douglas P. “School Library Journal.” Graphicclassics.com. N.P. 1 March 2004. Web. 5 October 2011.

Merriman, C.D. “Mark Twain.” Online-Literature.com. Jalic inc. 2006. Web. 5 October 2011.


 “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Shmoop.com. N.P. 2011. Web. 5 October 2011.


 Ryan-Dey, Laurie. “A Taste of Reality.” Ryangraphics.com. N.P. 17 March 2008. Web. 5 October 2011. 

Twain, Mark. “A Dog’s Tale.” Americanliterature.com. N.P. N.D. Web. 5 October 2011. 


 Twain, Mark. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Americanliterature.com. N.P N.D. Web. 5 October 2011.

Kew Gardens vs. A Society

           

 

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         Virginia Woolf once said, “If one could be friendly with women, what a pleasure - the relationship so secret and private compared with relations with men. Why not write about it truthfully?” Woolf’s writings are interpreted as a feminist’s outlook on the world. This perspective also applies to two short stories from her posthumously published book “A Haunted House and Other Short Stories”, “A Society” and “Kew Gardens”. Published in 1919, “Kew Gardens” uses vivid imagery and vague generalizations of nature to support Woolf’s ideas of feminism. “A Society” channels its feminist themes through concrete plot descriptions. Although these short stories are located on opposite ends of Woolf’s stylistic spectrum, their messages of feminism both suggest the same idea. In “A Society” and “Kew Gardens” Woolf uses the male dominated society of the 1920’s to advocate women taking a more active and dominant role over men.

Notwithstanding on the surface “Kew Gardens” appears as a story about an afternoon surrounded by nature, Woolf suggests that women should not act submissive towards their men. Woolf sets the scene with her first example: a married couple unsure of where they stand in terms of power. relations. While in the gardens, the man recalls his previous relationship which included a failed marriage proposal. “And my love, my desire, were in the dragonfly; for some reason I thought that if it settled there, on that leaf, the broad one with the red flower in the middle of it, if the dragonfly settled on the leaf she would say 'Yes' at once. But the dragonfly went round and round: it never settled anywhere­of course not, happily not, or I shouldn't be walking here with Eleanor and the children­. Tell me, Eleanor. D'you ever think of the past?" As he recalls his rejection from this woman, he asks his wife whether or not she thinks of the past. Woolf brings up this memory in order to show that women can have a mind of their own and reject men. By suggesting that women can have this power, Woolf endorses feminism. After the man reminisces about his past, his current wife promptly ignores him and thinks about her own past. This shows that women don’t have to listen to men; they should do what they feel is best. “The people, though, all seem caught in a state of psychological stasis. The young couple, particularly the man, is trapped by desire for the other and the uncertainty of what to do next” (Martin). According to Robert Stanley Martin, the man is more unsure of himself than the woman is of herself. This supports Woolf’s idea that women should be in charge since women are more quick thinking than men. In “Kew Gardens” Woof shows that women should be independent of men, advocating for the ideals of feminism.

In “A Society” a group of women are discussing their everyday trivial matters when all of a sudden, Poll, a woman dependent on her father’s fortune, bursts into tears, complaining about mundane literature. At this proclamation, the women start debating whether or not they should bear and raise men if all they only contribute trite books to society. Therefore, the women start to investigate the world in men “[because] these women want to know if men have produced anything of high value” (Dick.) A couple of the women disguise themselves as men and start living as a male. This results in many hilarious stories focusing on the idiocy of men. One of the women tells the story in which a man orders one of the disguised women to spank him, “At length he decreed that if she gave him four strokes and a half in the small of the back at a spot indicated by himself (the half conceded, he said, in recognition of the fact that her great grandmother's uncle was killed at Trafalgar).” In this silly ancedote, Woolf suggests that perceptive and intelligent women should be able to control their own lives since men can’t even control their own “societies”. In “A Society”, Woolf suggests that since women are more aware of their lives they should control society.

In both “A Society” and “Kew Gardens” Woof suggests that intellectually superior women should be able to command society. Through witty examples and funny dialogue, Woolf proposes that women direct society because women are the paramount gender.

Bibliography:

Dick , Susan . "What Fools We Were!." 20th Century Literature. 33.1 (1987): 51-66. Web.

26 Sep. 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/441332>.

Martin, Robert. "Fiction Review: Virginia Woolf, "Kew Gardens"." Pol Culture. 25 01 2010. Web.

11 Oct. 2011. <http://polculture.blogspot.com/2010/01/fiction-review-virginia-woolf-kew.html>.

Woolf , Virginia . "Kew Gardens." The Literature Network. The Literature Network , n.d. Web. 11

Oct 2011. <http://www.online-literature.com/virginia_woolf/862/>.

Woolf , Virginia . "A Society." The Literature Network. The Literature Network , n.d. Web. 11 Oct

2011. <http://www.online-literature.com/virginia_woolf/857/>.

Harmful Shells

“And our spending our whole lives among trivial, fussy men and silly, idle women, our talking and our listening to all sorts of nonsense -- isn’t that a case for us, too?” As depicted in this quotation from Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Man in a Case,” Russian society in the late nineteenth century faced many obstacles to truly gaining personal freedom. With an absolutist government under Czar Alexander III, the idea of freedom seemed like an unobtainable illusion. This lack of liberty had a great effect on citizens, including the famous author Anton Chekhov. In two of his short stories, “The Beauties” and “The Man in a Case,” the themes of self-enclosure and opportunities lost reflect the impact of Russian society during the late 1880s, while still remaining important today.

   
          In “The Beauties,” when the narrator notices two beautiful women, rather than expressing his feelings of attraction, he recoils into a shell and remains silent. Indeed, after observing a young Armenian girl’s enchanting features, “little by little the desire comes over you to say to Masha something extraordinarily pleasant, sincere, beautiful, as beautiful as she herself was.” And yet, the narrator decides to keep his opinions internalized, therefore inherently losing out on an opportunity at love. Still, the narrator fails to learn this lesson, and when struck by a second woman at a train station who was “remarkably beautiful,” he again does nothing. However, the narrator is not the only person so affected by one woman. A guard at the train station “wore a look of tenderness and of the deepest sadness...as though he were repenting and feeling in his whole being that the girl was not his.” This guard remains in his own type of shell, and like the narrator, chooses to never break free. Although the shells are supposed to serve as protection for these two characters, they instead generate pain into their lives from the regret of lost opportunities.

“The Beauties” marks a great societal transition in Russian history - the rise of industrialization. During the 1890s, Russia experienced a great increase in the building of railroads (Bruford 176). This change is evident within this short story because the first part takes place in the steppe, while the second part occurs in a train station. At the core of “The Beauties” also lies a significant past time, travel, to Russians due to the country’s large size. In both parts of the story, the narrator is travelling, which ties to the industrialization because the first trip is by carriage, and the second by train. These two distinct travel methods also reflect the amount of time the narrator had to appreciate the women’s beauty. While in the country, the boy has hours to cherish the woman’s looks. Yet, in the train station he has only the time of the break, which is significantly less time, comparatively. Furthermore, the two types of beauty further signify the shift in setting. According to Radislav Lapushin, “while the first girl is associated or directly compared with natural images of swiftness and motion (the bird, the wind, and lightning), the other one is mostly observed ‘standing at the window’ of the train car” (133). In addition, the realism of this story is achieved because it was based off of Chekhov’s life experiences. In a letter that he wrote to his sister on February 4, 1887, Chekhov described an encounter with a lady at the train station: “‘At an upper window at the far end of the station sits a young girl (or a married lady, goodness knows which) in a white blouse, beautiful and languid” (Bruford 17). Therefore, “The Beauties” depicts a realistic view on a pivotal point in Russian history, the transition of industrialization, through Chekhov’s real life experiences and his literary style. And this industrialization denoted a shift from relative freedom in the country to less freedom due to the increase in the bureaucracy and a higher concentration of people.

Like the industrialization in “The Beauties,” “The Man in a Case” uses an increase in government to project the themes of a “case,” the absence of individual freedom, and their detrimental effects. Byelikov, a teacher of Greek, falls victim to a “constant and insurmountable impulse to wrap himself in a covering” in order to protect himself from the outside world. For example, he always wears goloshes and a coat, while carrying an umbrella in its own case, no matter what the weather. In addition, Byelikov attempts to conceal his thoughts in a case, only speaking of “government circulars and newspaper articles in which something was forbidden.” This characteristic makes the whole town afraid of Byelikov’s ever-present, sharp judgment, therefore taking some of their freedom as well. However, Byelikov gains another interest in the form of a new colleague’s sister, Varinka, who in opposition to Byelikov’s character, was “so sprightly, so noisy; she was always singing Little Russian songs and laughing.” Yet, despite Varinka’s reciprocal affection for Byelikov, he fails to propose due to an embarrassing incident of falling down the stairs before her. Instead, he retreats to his bed and dies within a month. In the end, Byelikov spends eternity in the ultimate case - a coffin.

   
          The character Byelikov in “The Man in a Case” represents a whole Russian population during the nineteenth century when he becomes a victim to society. According to W. H. Bruford, Byelikov’s constant surveillance of his fellow citizens personifies the secret police controlled by the Ministry of the Interior, which came about from the “uneasy absolutism in an increasingly democratic age” (106). Byelikov’s overbearing observance forces people to feel uneasy and self-conscious about their lives for fear of being ridiculed, or worse. Furthermore, Chekhov often reflected his views on the lack of Russian citizens’ freedom in his letters. He once wrote, “My holy of holies is the human body, health, intelligence, talent, inspiration, love and the most absolute freedom - freedom from violence and lying, whatever forms they may take.” In general, this story reflects the lives of the intelligentsia, “a group broadly defined as the educated classes generally, excluding clergy and civil servants” (Clyman 73). Despite their education, they cannot escape the provincial conundrums of a shell covered in self-told lies “for the sake of a crust of bread, for the sake of a warm corner, for the sake of a wretched little worthless rank in the service.”
   
          Because Chekhov remains so widely read and recognized as an accomplished author, scholars have varying opinions on his short stories’ themes. Toby W. Clyman writes in A Chekhov Companion that Chekhov comments on “the inevitable sadness which true beauty evokes in us because it is both rare and ephemeral” (60). This statement is true, but misses important aspects of the story. The sadness felt by the men does have a root in the women’s beauty, but also in their lack of courageous communication caused by a loss of personal freedom, manifested in the form of a case. Similarly, Valentine Tschebotarioff Bill, in Chekhov - The Silent Voice of Freedom, claims that “Byelikov, in ‘The Man in a Case’ (1898) is the ultimate embodiment, the culminating symbol of fear and of isolation caused by fear” (158). Once again, the illusion of individual freedom is overlooked as the cause. Also, Byelikov serves a source of fear for the townspeople, as well as for himself. Therefore, when reading Chekhov, the cultural background of Russia remains vital in developing theories of themes in his short stories that should never be ignored.   

          In spite of the fact that Anton Chekhov wrote his short stories,“The Beauties” and “The Man in a Case,” in the late nineteenth century, their themes of personal freedom remain as applicable to modern times as they were when written. Even though teenagers in the United States are protected under the Constitution, the inescapable presence of the government still places limits on freedoms of expression and speech, thereby putting everyone in their own type of case. In addition, teenagers already place themselves in a case because no one truly expresses every thought that may enter his or her mind. Just like the closing of “The Man in the Case” stated, society places its citizens in cases through “our talking and our listening to all sorts of nonsense,” because no one really has the freedom to say how he or she truly feels.

Works Cited

Bill, Valentine Tschebotarioff. Chekhov - The Silent Voice of Freedom. New York: Philosophical Library, 1987.

Bruford, W.H. Chekhov and His Russia. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., 1947.

Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich. “The Beauties.” American Literature. Web. Accessed 26 Sept. 2011.

Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich. “The Man in a Case.” American Literature. Web. Accessed 26 Sept. 2011.

Clyman, Toby W. A Chekhov Companion. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985.

Lapushin, Radislav. “Dew on the Grass:” The Poetics of Inbetweeness in Chekhov. New York: Peter Lang, 2010.

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The Green Satin Gown and The Shed Chamber by Laura Richards have unique plots yet both of them can be linked to actions of war.  This link is further established through the gender roles that are created in both short stories that emphasize the rise of feminism that can be associated with the Civil War and World War I and II.  In contrast to the allusions of war, the actual form and style of Laura Richard’s writing reflects an imaginative and peaceful mind.  The suspense that is built up in both stories is a device that intrigues children and draws them into the story.  In The Green Satin Gown and The Shed Chamber Laura Richards juxtaposes war imagery with the purity and imagination of youth in order to demonstrate this contrast that existed in her own childhood.    

The Green Satin Gown and The Shed Chamber both have a plot that mirrors major events taking place during Laura Richard's childhood.  The Shed Chamber follows a story line that can be related to war.  First a girl, Nora, goes to work for a family where the mother is ill and the story quickly takes an exciting turn when a robber is hiding in the house and the young girl is forced to be brave and run get the men in the neighborhood to catch the burglar.  Laura Richards lived through the Civil War and World War I and II so she was heavily influenced by gender roles and men leaving to fight the enemy.  The plot of A Green Satin Gown follows a young girl who is invited to the mysterious Madam Le Baron’s mansion to do a favor for the older woman who has a niece coming into town with all of her friends.  This plot follows only female characters and not one male figure is mentioned throughout the entire short story.  This void of men reflects the society that Laura Richards grew up in because men were constantly leaving for war and many men died in battle leaving their wives widowed.  

The rise of feminism was a major political movement that took place during Laura Richard’s lifetime.  The role of women changed in numerous ways during her existence, and the vote for women was won when she was alive.  When Laura Richards was just in the beginning of her teen years the Civil War began, which caused massive abolition movements that triggered the first wave of feminism.  In addition, later in Laura Richard's life the second wave of feminism began that questioned women’s roles and examined domesticity and its effect on women.  This empowerment of women is seen in both The Green Satin Gown and The Shed Chamber.  In The Shed Chamber Nora begins to work for a family who has an ill mother and is extremely successful at running the household despite her young age.  Nora is placed in a specific female gender role of cooking and cleaning, which was questioned during Laura Richard's lifetime.  In A Green Satin Gown typical female roles are also played out because the plot revolves around women entertaining by coordinating social gatherings and getting dressed up in beautiful gowns.  All of these roles were common and widely accepted when Laura Richards was alive, yet at the same time Laura Richards sees the fall of these ideas when the feminist movement emerges.  The fact that Richards includes these female gender roles in her stories shows the deep influence that the political changes during her lifetime had on her.

Laura Richard establishes ties to war in both The Green Satin Gown and The Shed Chamber, but this is juxtaposed with her free style of writing that creates fairytale imagery.  In The Green Satin Gown the narrator steps into a dream world when she goes to Madam Le Baron’s home and she even says, “I had walked into a fairy tale, or else I was dreaming!” (Richards 5).  The entire story establishes imagery that creates a fantasy scene that children always can relate to.  Madame Le Baron even gives the young girl a beautiful green satin gown that she puts on for a party that evening.  This dressing up in fine clothing alludes to a fairytale such as “Cinderella”.  This perfect world is contrasted with the plot and gender roles that suggest war.  In The Shed Chamber Laura Richards creates another dream world where Nora is allowed to leave her home and begin working for a lovely family.  She even gets her own room that is vividly described as, “a pretty little room with sloping gables and windows down by the floor” (Richards 5).  The contrast of the fairytale childhood and the war environment mirrors Laura Richard's own upbringing and journey in life.  She grew up “in a delightful old house set in a lovely garden in a suburb of Boston” yet just as she entered into adolescence the Civil War began (Richards 1).

In both The Green Satin Gown and The Shed Chamber a great deal of suspense is built up that is extremely customary of children's literature.  This suspense and sense of adventure allows young people to let their imaginations run free, and even begin to predict and wonder what is going to happen next in the story.  A common device that Laura Richards uses to build anticipation is fear of the unknown.  In The Green Satin Gown the unknown is Madam Le Baron who lives in a grand house all alone.  In The Shed Chamber suspense is built by wondering what is hiding in the shed in the dark trunk.  This build up demonstrates how Laura Richards is in tune to children's imaginations.  This relates to her childhood that she seems to cherish and hold close in her memory as a time of true freedom and imagination.

Childhood is a time that impacts an individual even when they are adults, and it is something that is always remembered.  Young people are so impressionable and easily affected by their environments.  Laura Richards grew up in a beautiful house and spent long days playing games with her brother in her fantasy world "hunting elephants and rhinoceroses (which other persons did not see) in the garden" and having "wonderful adventures under the dining room table" (Estes 314).  As she grew up she came to face the realities of her time, which was the Civil War and World War I and II.  Her works of literature are completely influenced by this deep contrast in her life.  In The Green Satin Gown and The Shed Chamber Laura Richards juxtaposes war imagery with the purity and imagination of youth in order to demonstrate this contrast that existed in her own childhood.

Works Cited

Estes, Glenn E. American Writers for Children before 1900. Vol. 42. Detroit: Gale Research, 1985. Print.

Richards, Laura E. Letter to Junior Readers. 1935. MS.

Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe. The Green Satin Gown. Boston: Dana Estes &, 1903. Print.

Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe. The Shed Chamber. Print.

Richard Harding Davis, a Man of Realism

(Hannah Hollon)

Twentieth century literary realism developed to provide readers entertainment and an accurate worldly portrayal, which oftentimes served as an escape. Readers enjoyed this relief, which made realism a very popular writing genre during the time period. Richard Harding Davis’ short stories exemplify all of the qualities of twentieth century realism, yet critics often questioned and even debated his writing style for it provided optimism and ethics in a transitional time period when such literature was needed. In particular, his stories “A Question of Latitude” and “The Man Who Could Not Lose” provide idealism to readers, which define Davis’ literary works. 

            The historical background of the twentieth century offers an explanation as to why literary realism survived and had such appeal to readers. The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise of the Industrial Revolution and pre-World War I attitude. “The rapid growth in industrialism and urbanization, an expanding population base due to immigration, and a relative rise in middle-class affluence” explained why change occured in the general culture (Campbell). This gave way to American Realism, which focused on the everyday tradition, values, morals, and truth. This writing style appealed to the public, for they “saw their own struggles in print”, which explained the growing support behind Richard Harding Davis’ work (Penrose). He utilized vernacular dialogue that connected with the public and focused on character rather than plot development. Taking an ordinary character, he could analyze and develop the person to be complex and truthful. Davis focused on the divide between the high and low class, specifically on the “interests and aspirations of an insurgent middle class” (Campbell). However, not everyone accepted realism. A large group of cynics felt that realism did not actually well-represent America. They attacked realism, claiming that this literature brushed over major topics and sugar-coated problems. “Debates over the suitability of realism…led to a critical exchange known as the realism war” and particularly led to the criticism of Davis’ writing (Penrose). 

            The argument over Davis’ work divided between realistic and over-simplified, which created a huge dispute during the twentieth century. One side praised Davis for preaching morality, truth, and social class while also attacking “American crudeness” (Osborn 85). They saw him as a symbol of American tradition that represented the masses. Cynics did not really carry an argument; they argued that Davis failed because he was “too American.” This term referred to modernizing fairy tales, emphasizing “the smiling aspects of life,” and “cramping prejudice” (Osborn 89-90). They claimed that he focused on an immature audience and wrote for pleasure when he should have written instructive literature. He could not analyze complicated matters due to inexperience and “limited intelligence” (Osborn 90). However, this argument is weak since Davis was specifically a realist writer and stayed true to form. His stories developed a character throughout, emphasizing the high and low classes equally. This kind of writing “promot[ed] optimism, confidence, and happiness, which obviously appealed to the public (Osborn 88). His stories followed a maturing character through a situation to reveal a moral lesson directed to the reader, which explains Davis’ wide popularity.

            In particular, “A Question of Latitude” represents Davis’ idealistic writing style that embodied the realism of the optimistic time period in literature successfully. “A Question of Latitude” exposes the strange culture of the Congo in comparison to that of America, for it is simple, uncivilized, violent, poor, and uneducated. Davis chooses to brush over the violence, which is actually a central tenet of African culture. He has the protagonist, Everett, ignore the violence and even take part in it just to survive until the next day. Everett takes note that he is going against his moral standards, a necessity if he plans to stay there. In this way, Davis raises a moral lesson on violence and the consequences of passivity towards such violence. He zeroes in on the divide between the rich and the poor through Everett’s point of view. “The standard of life to which Everett was accustomed was high,” and coming into the Congo he upheld high status, which held no value in the Congo (Davis). This fact shocked Everett, who was used to prominent class distinctions, but only one class existed in the Congo: the poor. Thus, he acclimates to this strange environment and cultural exposure where “death must be faced, conciliated, conquered” (Davis). Realism is present in this work as Everett uncovers the real problems of the Congo, yet Davis’ key trait comes to forefront as Everett merely sees these issues rather than analyzes them. Davis found a way to highlight complex issues without diving in, which existed in his all of his short stories and made his writing accessible to almost anyone. 

            “The Man Who Could Not Lose” also represents the idealistic nature of Richard Harding Davis, as he takes an unrealistic situation and develops it into a humbling experience that exposes the true value of the characters. This story focuses on social class and the back-and-forth nature between the rich and the poor. Therefore money and the struggle for wealth are the central themes of the story. The characters develop as their attitudes toward money change and become more realistic. Carter’s fortune-telling dreams make him money-hungry as he drags himself out of poverty and gains wealth through horse races. On the other hand, his wife, who grew up in a rich household, never showed an interest in this money but supported her husband’s endeavors. She grounds him, making him realize that the best prize of all is his wife, not the money. Readers find pleasure in this story because it represents the “rags to riches” dream that seems distant and even idealistic. Davis focuses on wealth and class in this story, utilizing true characteristics of realism. He highlights the gloom surrounding poverty and the overt excitement of newfound wealth. These contrasting outlooks create a problem, but ideally in the end, there is an equilibrium between greed and paucity. Without explicitly stating these facts, Davis uses two characters to display this struggle. He creates an unlikely situation, yet successfully produces realistic lessons and morals, a characteristic that made Davis famous. 

            Optimism was key to the early twentieth century and is essential to literature in order to successfully appeal to a variety of readers. Literature is read for entertainment, and people want to leave a story feeling good, as if it were an escape from reality. Twentieth century literature reflects the happy attitude surrounding the Industrial Revolution and pre-war time. Davis’ work clearly fits in with this tone, for his realism draws readers in through his optimistic style and choice of storyline. Both “A Question of Latitude” and “The Man Who Could Not Lose” represent these storylines that related to his audience and left them feelings satisfied. While debate exists over Richard Harding Davis, the amount of popularity surrounding his stories shows that he was a successful twentieth century writer who effectively gave the readers what they wanted.

Works Cited

Campbell, Donna. "Realism in American Literature." Washington State University –

Pullman, Washington. Washington State University, 08 Sept. 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm>.

Davis, Richard Harding. "A Question of Latitude." Short Stories & Classic Literature from  

           around the World. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.

           <http://www.americanliterature.com/sstitleindex.html>.

Osborn, Scott C. "Richard Harding Davis: Critical Background." American Quarterly

            12.1 (1960): 84-92. JSTOR. Web. 23 Sept. 2011.

Penrose, Patricia. "American Realistion 1865-1910." American Collection: Welcome.

Harper and Row, 1987. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. <http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/amer_realism.htm>.