English 015 - Americans Abroad
Comfort's Consequence
Comfort's Consequence
Category: 1E: Twain, James, Wharton | Tom Lakin
Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad and Henry James’s Daisy Miller both explore the ways in which Americans make themselves comfortable in foreign countries. Twain and James use their main characters as vehicles to identify these various methods of establishing security by depicting the ways in which they react to their foreign surroundings. The Americans resort to three main ways of combating the discomfort of their circumstances: by immersing themselves in the foreign culture, by clinging to their American ethnicity and customs, or by utilizing either of these methods depending on the situation. Each method, however, has its own set of consequences, and no matter which approach is used, the comfort gained comes at each character’s own expense.
Twain’s The Innocents Abroad explores two of these main techniques through the behavior of Twain himself versus the behavior of his compatriots. Twain’s method for establishing a comfort zone is a complex combination of both immersion into his foreign surroundings and an ignorant clinging to his American roots. He chooses between both of these approaches by analyzing his present situation and deciding which would provide more comfort at that particular time. When Twain first arrives in France, he wants to establish himself as an educated traveler, and therefore decides to attempt to converse in French with the natives: “I told him in French that all we wanted was to walk over his thwarts and step ashore…We reasoned calmly with Dan that it was useless to speak to this foreigner in English – that he had better let us conduct this business in the French language and not let the stranger see how uncultivated he was” (Twain 62). Twain respects the French culture and therefore wishes to experience France as it is to the Frenchmen themselves, thus establishing comfort. He explains how upset he is upon hearing his waitress at a French café speak English: “…Beyond all question we were in beautiful France and absorbing its nature to the forgetfulness of every thing else…and to think of this skinny veteran intruding with her vile English, at such a moment…It was exasperating” (63). Here, Twain sounds almost as if he is completely renouncing his American heritage by referring to the English language – his native language – as “vile”. Clearly, he is not willing to present himself as openly American in a foreign country he seemingly has such respect for. Yet, at times Twain acts completely different in trying to find comfort in his unfamiliar surroundings. When confronted with an area he feels very out of place or awkward in, instead of conforming to it he brutally criticizes it. This happens often during his stay in Syria, where he spends most of his time disgusted and irritated by the environment and its inhabitants: “A Syrian village is the sorriest sight in the world, and its surroundings are eminently in keeping with it” (Twain 344). Twain further exemplifies his American bias by comparing women in the Far East with an American mother: “And, would you suppose that an American mother could sit for an hour, with her child in her arms, and let a hundred flies roost upon its eyes all that time undisturbed? I see that every day” (Twain 349). Twain is able to establish a constant level of comfort for himself by holding onto his American pedigree at certain times and abandoning it at others. This method allows him to be perfectly at ease in all situations, while never forcing him to completely lose sight of his true heritage. He is in no danger of forgetting the culture he hails from, while he is still able to explore the nuances of the civilizations he is visiting.
Twain’s combination approach to foreign travel, however helpful, often leaves him conflicted between America and the foreign nation he is visiting. At times he seems contradictory, like in Egypt when he is so in awe of the great Pyramids, “…structures which might blossom into tiers of vague arches, or ornate colonnades, may be, and change and change again, into all graceful forms or architecture” (Twain 467), yet crudely insults the native people, “The Arabs are too high-priced in Egypt. They put on airs unbecoming such savages” (Twain 470). His back and forth behavior negatively reflects on his character, and he often looks like a pompous jerk.
Twain’s compatriots on his foreign venture are hardly as inventive as he, and they choose to use the method of total immersion in order to make themselves comfortable abroad. Twain gives a short discourse on their ridiculous behavior in France, commenting on their complete abandonment of their native ethnicity: “It is not pleasant to see an American thrusting his nationality forward obtrusively in a foreign land, but Oh, it is pitiable to see him making of himself a thing that is neither male nor female, neither fish, flesh, nor fowl – a poor, miserable, hermaphrodite Frenchman!” (Twain 166). Twain’s fellow Americans are incredibly self-conscious of their American heritage, and are afraid of standing out as tourists. They want to blend in everywhere they go, in this way establishing the anonymous comfort they seek. Twain, however, explains how their disguises are nothing short of idiotic, and that, for all their effort, his group is in no way inconspicuous: “But of all the ridiculous sights I have ever seen, our party of eight is the most so…They travel single file; they all wear the endless white rag of Constantinople wrapped round and round their hats….they all wear thick green spectacles…they all hold white umbrellas lined with green…without exception their stirrups are too short…” (Twain 343). Twain’s portrayal of his fellow travelers suggests that they are trying too hard to fit in, and end up fooling no one with their outlandish covers.
Twain’s compatriots, although their method seems feasible, in no way succeed in establishing a secure comfort level in their foreign surroundings. Their attempts to assimilate force them to abandon their American customs, an action that Twain explains has been disastrous for American travelers in the past: “On this subject let me remark that there are Americans abroad in Italy who have actually forgotten their mother tongue in three months – forgot it in France” (Twain 165). Twain’s fellow tourists could be in grave danger of completely losing touch with their country and themselves. This method of achieving comfort is ill-advised for this reason and also because it leaves the Americans looking foolish and out of place, in no way disguising them as natives. Thus, the combination method of Twain is much more successful given the disadvantages of the immersion technique. Twain even goes as far as suggesting that adhering tightly to one’s resident background abroad is a better method than that used by his fellow citizens: “We laugh at Englishmen, when we are at home, for sticking so sturdily to their national ways and customs, but we look back upon it from abroad very forgivingly” (Twain 166). He implies that, as obnoxious as this stubborn behavior seems, in the long run it is more practical.
James’s Daisy Miller also deals largely with the ways Americans react to their foreign situations. James further explores Twain’s combination method of establishing comfort through Winterbourne, as well as discussing the method employed by Daisy Miller, who clings tightly to her American ways. Winterbourne is much like Twain in that he forms a comfort level based on the situation he is in. As in Twain’s case, there is a distinct correlation between each situation and the choice Winterbourne makes. As Twain chooses to blend in with cultures he respects and pull away from those which disgust him, Winterbourne acts like an American when courting and interacting with Daisy Miller, and molds with the foreign culture when he is by himself or with his elders. Unlike Twain, however, who is forced to learn how to act like a foreigner, Winterbourne must try to recall how to act like an American. Winterbourne has been abroad for so many years that at times it seems he has lost much of his American heritage: “He felt he had lived at Geneva so long as to have got morally muddled; he had lost the right sense for the young American tone” (James 15). He enjoys the foreign culture in which he lives, and has no interest in American ways until he meets Daisy Miller, when he suddenly wants to recapture these traits he has lost. Winterbourne, however, often struggles with his lack of American knowledge, at times wondering how he should behave around Daisy and what is appropriate: “…She was only a pretty American flirt…he wondered what were the regular conditions and limitations of one’s intercourse with a pretty American flirt” (James 15). Even his aunt, Mrs. Costello, warns him about his ignorance of American ways: “‘But I really consider you had better not meddle with little American girls…You’ve lived too long out of the country. You’ll be sure to make some great mistake’ ” (James 22). Yet Winterbourne is unable to avoid Daisy, and becomes enamored with her. Winterbourne sees Daisy as a small piece of America, and his love for her is partly a love for his lost America itself. Thus when Winterbourne is with her, by trying to act “American”, he ends up acting irrationally by the standards of the country he is in. He does things such as asking her to join him on a boat late at night and accompanies her through town with another man; blatant acts of indiscretion in his foreign area, yet commonplace behavior in America. Mrs. Walker tries to interfere, begging Winterbourne to stop his outlandish behavior: “ ‘I want to enjoin on you the importance of your ceasing your relations with Miss Miller; that of your not appearing to flirt with her…that of your in short letting her alone’ ”(James 56). When Winterbourne is not with Daisy, however, he abides by all the rules of foreign society, completely abandoning those American qualities one glimpses during his interactions with Daisy. At one point, he even admits to Daisy herself that he varies his behavior depending on the situation: “ ‘Well…when you deal with natives you must go by the custom of the country. American flirting is a purely American silliness; it has…no place in this system’ ” (James 62). He knows how to work the “system”, and he does this by venturing back and forth between American and foreign behavior. In this way, Winterbourne is able to maintain a sterling reputation abroad while also exploring his love for Daisy.
Winterbourne, however, like Twain, often gets caught in between his American and foreign customs. His method of achieving comfort often results in his being put in very awkward situations involving both Daisy and one of his esteemed society acquaintances. He is then forced to choose one or the other, which completely negates his comfort system, putting him, instead, in an awfully uncomfortable situation. This problem is painfully obvious when Daisy asks if he thinks she should get into the carriage with Mrs. Walker: ‘ “Does Mr. Winterbourne think…that – to save my reputation – I ought to get into the carriage?’ ” (James 54). Winterbourne thus has to choose between alienating Mrs. Walker, his longtime foreign friend, and Daisy, his recent American crush: “It really embarrassed him…But he himself had to speak in accordance with gallantry. The finest gallantry here was surely just to tell her the truth; and the truth…was that his charming friend should listen to the voice of civilised society. ‘I think you should get into the carriage’ ” (James 54). Winterbourne’s method gets him into unfortunate predicaments such as this throughout the novel as he tries to please both worlds, and he is often left in discomfort rather than being content.
Daisy, unlike Twain, Winterbourne, or Twain’s compatriots, chooses to completely retain her American customs during her travels. She cares little for the rules of society abroad, acting as if she were still in America. She often cavorts about with multiple gentlemen friends, and flirts with many a foreigner, citing her experience in New York as an excuse for her behavior: “ ‘I’ve more friends in New York than in Schnectady – more gentlemen friends…I’ve always had…a great deal of gentlemen’s society’ ” (James 14). Daisy does everything that a young girl in this part of Europe is not supposed to: she stays out late, she travels alone with both American and foreign men, and she flirts fervently with whomever she pleases. Her actions totally disgust those living in the area, and she develops a reputation as a wild girl. Mrs. Walker is especially taken aback by her behavior: “ ‘That crazy girl mustn’t do this sort of thing…Fifty people have remarked her’ ”(James 52). This kind of talk, however, has no effect on Daisy, who could care less what the foreigners think of her conduct. She detests the stiffness of the foreign culture, and longs for laid-back American fun: “ ‘…and I besides, thank goodness, am not a young lady of this country. The young ladies of this country have a dreadfully pokey time of it, by what I can discover’ ”(James 61). She even goes as far as to insult the citizens with whom she is expected to blend, showing a blatant disrespect for their customs: “ ‘I don’t see why I should change my behavior for such stupids’ ”(James 61). Daisy’s actions display a sort of American pride and stubbornness, which combine to thoroughly put off her foreign hosts. Her tight grasp on her American ways, however, does succeed in ensuring that she won’t lose touch with her American background and customs while abroad.
Though Daisy’s comfort technique has its advantages, its consequences are severe. Her actions go completely against much of her host country’s culturally acceptable forms of behavior. Daisy, however, cares little about the culture or what is expected of her while there, and thus appears aloof in a country in which she is merely a guest. She soon gains a promiscuous reputation, and is talked about negatively in exclusive, high-society circles, the same circles she wishes she could join. This situation comes to a head when Mrs. Walker approaches Daisy about her “recklessness” (54). Daisy feels the need to defend herself later to Winterbourne, and her anti-foreign sentiments make her look rude and arrogant. Daisy’s need to be blatantly American in order to achieve comfort basically ruins her status abroad. She stands out clearly as a tourist, and must deal with all the negativity which follows that label.
As displayed in Twain’s Innocents Abroad and James’s Daisy Miller, it is exceedingly difficult for Americans to establish any form of comfort while abroad. Of the three main methods utilized by Winterbourne, Twain, Daisy and Twain’s fellow travelers, none is overly successful. Each has its glaring downsides, and though the techniques do, at times, achieve some form of comfort, it is not without cost to each character. Although Twain and Winterbourne’s combination technique – which allows for one to maintain reputation while also holding onto native traditions – is more effective than the methods employed by Daisy and Twain’s compatriots, all three cry out for some vital element which will provide flawless security with ease. Unfortunately, a method of that caliber remains unattainable, and the characters are thus often left uncomfortable and self-conscious in their foreign surroundings. Perhaps, however, this very discomfort is a basic component of foreign travel, for if all tourists felt perfectly comfortable away from home they might never return.
Posted by on October 02, 2003 at 02:13 PM
Comments
This first paper is strong work – often great. You make a slip or two in your argument, and I think you might have laid out your cards a different order for maximum effect. Overall, though, you define a pattern to track and then track it, carefully and thoroughly. Your writing is smooth and flexible; your use of quotes is often deft. Though your conclusion flirts with repetition, it leaves us with an interesting final thought. This is a rewarding read.
You’re very attentive when it comes to linking, and this skill lets you cover a lot of ground in these texts, attending to similarities and distinctions along the way, without getting lost. You convincingly graph the two books by ‘methods’ – immersion in foreign culture, clinging to American identity, or a strategic combo of the two.
The paper could have developed even more firmly if you had adjusted the order of analysis just a little. In each text, you have an extreme embrace of one of the methods, and a more subtle deployment of the ‘combo’ approach. So you’re set up for this flow: single method doesn’t lead to comfort, combo method avoids problems & is more sophisticated, but it still doesn’t lead to lasting comfort. In other words: other Americans, and then Twain; Daisy, and then Winterbourne. Such a flow would step from the simple to the more complex, really developing your thesis.
A stumble in the argument: your mistaking Mrs W as foreign. Several claims you make regarding foreign expectations about proper behavior, pinned to her, are quite dubious; I end up really wondering whether Daisy is being an American flirt or really responding to the freedom that surrounds her (using the ‘combo’ method, I guess). This needs careful re-thinking and pertinent proof before the essay rises to the solid A level.
Much of this work is already at that level, though; I look forward to other similarly thoughtful and well-managed arguments down through the semester.