The Rise of Silas Lapham

In the Story “The Rise of Silas Lapham,” written by William Dean Howells, Silas’s desire to conform to the standards of society is the root of his company’s downfall but the rise of his understanding and morals. The society Silas is trying to feel accepted by is very judgmental and vain and do not care about others therefore making it very tough for the Laphams to be accepted or even feel somewhat normal where they are living. Persis is a significant character in the novel because in the end she

Realism is the theory of writing in which the ordinary, familiar, or dull traits of life are portrayed in a straight forward manner that reflects life as it actually is. Multiple works of literature show some type of Realism. Realism started its rise in the United States in 1865 and ended in the early 1900’s. Realistic writers would set their stories in specific American regions trying to capture the local traditions before they would be forgotten. They wrote about the grim realities of everyday

William Dean Howells wrote many important things in a realistic style during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His work, “The Rise of Silas Lapham,” exemplified realism and impacted Americans as one of the first novels to study American businessmen. The Realism movement served American literature as an attempt of truthfully portraying life in all literary works. The Realism movement consumed almost all of the continental United States beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, coming

Character Manipulation in Howells' The Rise of Silas Lapham           Of all the characters who undergo change in The Rise of Silas Lapham, Lapham's change is the only one looked upon in a positive light by the narrator. William Dean Howells uses the corruption of other characters to promote Lapham's newfound morality and reinforce his ultimate triumph. Before Lapham's financial ruin, he is the only character with fault. Yet as his world crumbles, so does the credibility and innocence of his

Motivation of Immorality in The Rise of Silas Lapham and The Octopus       In both William Dean Howells' The Rise of Silas Lapham and The Octopus by Frank Norris, a character is faced with the moral issues involved with operating his business. Howells' character, Silas Lapham (The Colonel) and Norris' Magnus Derrick are both desirous to have a prominent position in their respective societies, but are in the precarious situation of having to deploy immoral methods to achieve this coveted stature

The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells In the novel, The Rise of Silas Lapham, William Dean Howells makes a particular point about the morals of an individual in the business world. His point is that an individual, such as Silas, must check their morals at the door if they have any plans to make it in the business world. The novel has always been popular, partly because it presents Lapham's financial and social failure as "consciously and deliberately chosen" when he has to decide

REALISM Realism is a literary movement which tries to show things, actions or social circumstances in point of fact without presenting them in the influence of feelings or other artistic ideas. (Duerksen, R. A. (1966). Shelleyan ideas in Victorian literature. The Hague: Mouton.) Realism as a word comes from Greek word “Res” which means real. Realism emerged in France during the mid- 19th centuary. (Realism (late 1800s-early 1900s). (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://www.scholastic

In his writing, he strongly discouraged the artificial sentimentality and romanticism elements in American fiction. The rise of Silas Lapham (1885) has been briefly considered Howells' finest work which displayed the economic depression but moral salvation of an honorable businessman in a Boston society controlled by clans that inherited positions of power (Jones 128). Distinctly

Realism, as stated by Washington University, is the “faithful representation of reality that describes and depicts everyday middle- class life.” It (Realism) demonstrates the hardships and problems people undergo in order to be able to achieve moral success and mental peace. “Naturalism depicts the similar ideals as realism in portraying a situation in a more negative and detached tone” (literarydevices.net). The ideas are mostly focused on the character being more human and more prone to making

Brief Survey of American Literature 1. Beginnings to 1700 Great mixing of peoples from the whole Atlantic basin Bloody conflicts between Native Americans (or American Indians) and European explorers and settlers who had both religious and territorial aspirations - Native American oral literature / oral tradition - European explorers’ letters, diaries, reports, etc., such as Christopher Columbus’s letters about his voyage to the “New world”. - Anglo (New England) settlers’ books, sermons