The American 2

A detailed Summary of The American 2

In America, a citizen expects a storybook life. A life which has a controlled destiny is ideal. The American dream is based on making enough money to own a house and finding a mate. Money becomes the main part of the dream, and is expected to make the dream become a reality. Europe, however, is quite different. Europe is not about capitalism; it is about the family one belongs to and how much money that family is worth. Life is controlled and destiny is easily predictable. Naturally, the two cultures collide. In The American, by Henry James, the lead character Christopher Newman feels that he can travel to Europe, find the girl of his dreams, and marry without a problem. Unfortunately, one family has a problem with his goals. The Bellegarde's are the supreme example of "old money," and a dynasty that is not going to allow "new money" into it, no matter how hard Newman tries. A person cannot control his own destiny and he has to find a compromise between his freewill and destiny in order to accept his future. The novel shows this through Christopher Newman throughout the entire story.

In the beginning of the novel, Christopher Newman thinks that the world is in his hands and that with his money he i

Newman's naivete about his proposal to Claire shows now that he cannot simply find something he wants and obtain it quickly. He has to work at making himself a part of the Bellegarde family. Unfortunately, Newman expects to easily jump into family that contains a life full of secrets and treachery. He doesn't understand them, but still carries on with them as if he does. At the family get together in which Newman is introduced to the Bellegarde family, Newman finally sense that something may be wrong in his quest for Claire: At last, as he turned away from the battery of smiles and other amnemities, Newman caught the eye of the marquis looking at him heavily; and thereupon, for a single instant, he checked himself. 'Am I behaving like a d---d fool?' he asked himself. (James 212) Newman never sees that his marriage to Claire isn't pure; it is a political act. He felt the party was arranged so he could become comfortable part of the Bellegarde life. He thinks that the family's rudeness towards him is because of their snobbery, not because they honestly don't want Claire to be a part of his life. (Banta 84) Newman also fails to realize that Claire is part of the Bellegarde family, and therefore must obey their rules. During a family party Newman allows his ignorance to hide the fact that there is a chance he will not be allowed into the Bellegarde family: He looked at Madame de Cintre, but she was not looking at him. If his personal self-consciousness had been of a nature to make him constantly refer to her, as the critic before whom, in company, he played his part, he might have found it a flattering proof of her confidence that he never caught her eyes resting upon him. (James 206) Newman uses his ignorance as an excuse for why things aren't going his way. In creating "Claire," Newman makes he ignorant and innocent too. He never sees himself in the people he meets or creates. (Banta 92) Newman's innocence gets in the way of his controlling his own destiny.

Christopher Newman creates an ideal Claire to fit his needs and fails to realize that Claire is not this person. He ignores the fact that Claire has a different culture than him and instead decides to pursue her. Claire has become the woman of his dreams, and it is hard for him to think of her otherwise. When Newman first meets Claire, he is described as thinking: Here and there Madame de Cintre's utterance had a faint shade of strangeness, but at the end of ten minutes Newman found himself waiting for these soft roughnesses. He enjoyed them and marveled to see that gross thing, error, brought down to a fine point. (James 90) Even though she is not exactly the ideal type, Newman convinces himself that she is. Newman believes that the mind is something that holds objects, instead of feelings. He thinks Claire can be bought, and makes her the ideal wife. He can't see that his culture differs from Claire's, and so his mind is able to hold these ideas. Newman believes that with the life he has created and his ideal wife, he can understand the Bellgardes. (Hobbs, 121) Newman made Claire who he wanted her to be. He was creating his own destiny instead of letting his life takes its course. Newman tries to see what he finds so intriguing of Claire: "It was not that she was reserved; on the contrary, she was as frank as flowing water. But he was sure she had the qualities which she herself did not suspect." (James 109) Newman is not sure what it is that he finds so wonderful about Claire but he is sure she is right for him. He doesn't understand her, and instead of trying to, he allows himself to get caught up in the life that she lives. In the end, he is cheated of her and his exploration. (Bowden 32) Thus

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Approximate Word count = 2509
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English