Edith Wharton's The Age Of Innocence

First, the forms of aging and life course structures depend on the nature of the society in which individuals participate. Second, while social interaction is seen as having the greatest formative influence in the early part of life, such interaction retains crucial importance throughout the life course. Third, that social forces exert regular influences on individuals of all ages at any given point in time” (Theories of Aging. (n.d.)). The movie portrays aging being more about living the rest of life rather than dyeing in them.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book thick with symbolism and metaphors. It is a debatable fact that Scout, the female protagonist, is a symbol for innocence. Though the validity of her symbol is in doubt, I am certain that the symbol in this novel for injured faith, or broken innocence, is Boo Radley. That puts in question the reason why Boo continues to amble down the same road of apathy while Scout is being led down the path to unbiased maturity. I believe that Atticus, the father figure in the novel, is the subtle influence that raises Scout to be aware of the immoral actions around her but not to accept them. Prejudice corrupts a child’s progression of innocence to maturity, but Atticus keeps his children from assuming the attitude of the townspeople.

The Age of Innocence, written by Edith Wharton in 1920, is a novel about Newland Archer, set in New York in the 1870s. In the beginning of the novel, Newland is engaged to May Welland, however when her cousin Ellen Olenska returns from Europe, he begins to doubt who he really loves. Due to societal norms, Newland stays with May and never consummates his relationship with Ellen, despite their growing feelings towards each other. At the time of writing The Age of Innocence, Wharton was reading Sir James George Frazer’s The Golden Bough (1914), a 14 volume work on anthropology, which consisted of myths, customs, and magical practices. This collection sparked interest for Wharton, potentially inspiring her to enlist many allusions to classical

In the beginning of the novel, Archer acts according to the molded product he is supposed to be. Archer was proud to be a New Yorker, someone in the upper class with refined taste and morals. This ended when Countess Olenska returned to New York, in want of a divorce with her husband in Europe. The New York family wanted to prevent this divorce because of propriety. They send Archer, a lawyer, to convince Ellen against it. As the story goes, Archer falls in love with Ellen because of her mysteriousness of unconventionality. By acting as the family’s messenger, Archer “sabotages his own quest”. Due to inconvenience, Archer wants to overthrow the principles he once lived by (Hadley 37). He suddenly realized “That terrifying product of the social system he belonged to and believed in, the young girl who knew nothing and expected everything, looked back at him like a stranger through May

Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence can be interpreted in a variety of ways; it is both an analysis of a prelapsarian aristocracy and a narrative recounting a man’s struggle to balance passion with moral conformity. Under a sociological lens, the motif of innocence within The Age of Innocence can be used to explore the conflict of interests between New York high society and an individualist ideology in the midst of social change.

Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is about British school boys who get trapped on an island. Who then try to create a society to temporarily suit their needs till they get rescued. There are four main characters in the book Ralph, Jack, Piggy. The character that I chose to compare the characterization that the author puts to enhance the theme loss of innocence is Simon. Innocence is considered as a nice, non-evil, clean minded person. Innocence is lost once they are not considered good people or don’t think of good things. Golding uses the characterization of Simon to enhance the theme of the loss of innocence.

Newland Archer desires to be a free soul in old New York, differing from those around him. May Welland’s actions and naivety help Newland realize he wants to break away from the norm of society. Ellen Olenska arrives in New York to stay with family during her divorce with a Polish Count. Ellen and Newland are formally introduced by May, beginning Ellen and Newland’s odious relationship. Ellen offers a fresh change to Newland’s monotonous lifestyle; she shows Newland the excitement of going against the moral code. After Ellen’s arrival, Newland briefly believes he wants to be with someone who is not like women from New York, and when given the chance to be with Ellen, Newland turns it down, showing he is truly an old-fashioned man at heart.

Societal norms and expectations are being reexamined more now than they ever have before; questions that many would never have dared to say (and some would not know to think about) are being debated and considered. Society still influences a major part of daily life, but it used to have almost complete control over others’ actions and views. In Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, a restrictive society works to maintain the same traditions, and put its next generation into the exact roles as those who came before them.

Adrienne Grant Professor Len Diepeveen English 1000X, Tutorial 4 3 November 2014 “Great Influence and Respect”: The Characteristics and Role of a minor character, Granny Mingott, from Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence It is very common as a child growing up in almost every type of community or society to hear the phrase “respect your elders;” Granny (Manson) Mingott from Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence is a prime example of a well respected elder. She was able to win and maintain a social position with great respect and worlds of influence over the New York society all awhile having a few very unorthodox social views, even while her moral standards stayed intact.

The Age of Innocence, written by Edith Wharton, is about the upper-class society of New York City in the 1870’s. The novel follows the life of an upper-class lawyer named Newland Archer. He is going to wed May Welland, who comes from another upper-class family. As the novel progresses Newland starts to become intrigued with May’s cousin, the poor Ellen Olenska. Ellen is called “poor” because she is shameful in the eyes of the society that surrounds her. Ellen left her husband and moved back to New York City to be with her family. Divorce is not acceptable in the 1870’s high society like it is today. Newland tries at first to protect Ellen from the bad reputation that she will perceive if she divorces

In the novel The Age of Innocence, one can immensely sense the distaste that Edith Wharton had for the social code that was infused throughout New York City at a time where the Gilded Age was coming about. Wharton’s personification of different characters throughout the novel reflect her negative sentiments on the ever-rigid culture that enveloped New York City’s atmosphere at the time. Because this novel was written almost fifty years after Wharton was born, she had personal insight on how New York City operated during its period of social transition, from the beginning of the Gilded Age in 1870, to the end of World War I in 1918. In writing The Age of Innocence, Wharton was particularly influenced by her frequent trips to Europe, especially

Third Person Limited Omniscient Point of view: One of the Most Effective Way to Represent the theme of the Social Pressure The Age of Innocence (1920) by Edith Wharton is a retrospective story which depicts the high-class society of New York in 1870s where the protagonist, Newland Archer struggles to decide his path between his own desire and the social ideologies. Newland defies the social norm by the scandal of immoral conduct with an insubordinate woman even if it affects his livelihood and social status extremely. However, he ironically determines to follow the social norm by choosing his family over Ellen Olenska in the epilogue. The theme of Archer’s conflict between himself and the society that surrounds him is revealed more evidently

“You did love me for a moment; and it helped me. It always helped me. But the moment is gone, it was I who let it go.” (405). Some people believe if you have chemistry with someone, you only need one other thing. Timing. But it's hard to get timing right. However is timing really all that matters? In House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Wharton proposes the question, was Lily Bart and Lawrence Selden’s fate inevitable or could they have prevented it? Other than Timing, different upbringings and miscommunication both were factors that kept Lily and Lawrence apart but also could have brought them back together.

“What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote” (E.M. Forster). Many authors write in order to express their deepest thoughts and experiences to their audience; when the thoughts and experiences can be continuously related to the reader throughout any time period, it becomes a classic. This is exactly how Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence has been brought about as a classic and is still relevant to people today. Wharton’s work reveals multiple unique perspectives to people through the development of her characters in her specific writing style.

Secondly, Newland Archer was always there for Ellen when she needed someone the most and Ellen always told him her secrets. For example, when she got tired of being oppressed by the society, she went away to Skuytercliff without telling anyone. A day or two later, she sent a note to Newland Archer telling him where she was and also said that she wishes he was there with her and the van der Lyudens. As soon as he got the note, he left for Skuytercliff and was anxious to know why she left so suddenly. When she saw