1、Comparison among Twain, Howells and JamesAlthough Twain, Howells and James all worked for realism, there wereobvious differences between them.At first,youshouldknow theirdifferencesofbackground and lifeexperience, because ones characteris bravely close to those.Mark Twain was broughtup in the small

2、town ofHannibal,Missouri,on theMississippi.He was twelve when his fatherdiedand he had to leaveschool.He was successfully a printers apprentice, a tramp printer, a silverminer, a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi, and a frontier journalistin Nevada and California. This knocking about gave him a wid

3、e knowledgeof humanity.With thepublicationofhis frontiertale,“ The CelebratedJumping Frog of Calaveras county,” Twain became nationally famous.Howells was born in a small town in Ohio and brought up in the humblesurroundingsoftherough-and-readyAmericanMideast.He hadlittleformaleducationbutwas widely

4、read,includingmany famous writerssuchas Heine,Irvingand Jane Austen. Then, he becamea reporter,and by 1860,had had three of his poems printed in the Atlantic Monthly.Henry James was born into a wealthy cultured family of New England. Hisfather,Henry James,Sr.,was an eminent philosopherand reformer,a

5、nd hisbrotherWilliamJames was tobe thefamous philosopherand psychologist.Henry James was one of the few authors in American literary history whodid not have to worry about money. His upbringing is unusual: he wasexposed to the cultural influence of Europe at a very early age. Laterhe met and develop

6、ed a life-long friendship with William Dean Howells,who becamehis “moral police.” For a while he attendedHarvard Law School,Where he read,insteadoflaw,French novelistsand criticssuch as Balzacand George Sand. He alsoreadintensively GeorgeEliotand Hawthorne. Hetoured England, France and Italy.and met

7、 many famous person such asFlaubert.Secondly,youwillbegivensome masterpiecesofthemtofindmoredifferences.The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, which was written by Twain, tells astory abouttheUnitedStatesbeforethe CivilWar, around 1850, when thegreat Mississippi was still being settled. At that time, th

8、ere are fullof violence there. What is more, the machine and worship of money wereon their way in, but the river-god, with its“sunlight, space, anddanger, ” had not been forgotten.The storytakesplaceat the MississippiRiver. Along this river floats a small raft, with two people on it: Oneis an ignora

9、ntuneducated blackslavenamed Jim and theotherisa littleuneducated outcast whiteboy ofabout the age thirteen,calledHuckleberryFinn or Huck Finn. The book relates the story of the escape of Jim fromslavery and, more important, how Huck Finn, floating along with him andhelping him asbest hecould, chang

10、e hismind, hisprejudice about Blackpeople, and comes to acceptJim as a man and as a closefriend.The storyis through Huck Fin s eyes and words to show the cruelty of the slaverysystem and the humanity in two illiterate boys other than the rich.The Rise of SilasLaphamknown as the bestmasterpieceofHowe

11、lls., which isIt tells a story about a person named Silas Lapham, who is a self-mademan. He startshis paintbusinessfrom scratchand becomes a millionaire.Thenhe spentalotofmoney onbuildingagorgeoushouseina“respectable” area ofthe town. Unexpectedly,hisdaughterfallsinlovewith a young manof a upperclas

12、s family, the Coreys.Unfortunately, thecompetitionof hisbusiness becomes keener. Silas isindanger and facingtwo choices: to survive, or to bankrupt. To survive, he must do immoralthings, which will do harm to many people in the future. To bankrupt, hewill be poor again.Finally, hechooses the latter,

13、 andhis company goesbankrupt, He falls and suffers, but manages to keep more people fromsuffering. Falling, he achieves his moral and ethical“rise. ”The Portrait of a Ladywritten by James tells about the fate of one ofthosesplendidJamesian American girl,IsabelArcher,arrivinginEurope,full of hope and

14、 with a will to live a free and noble life, only to fallpreyandtothesinisterdesignsoftwovulgarandunscrupulousexpatriates, Madam Merle and Gilbert Osmond. As a very rich and nobleperson, Archer is very self-willed.She refusesa veryrichbusinessman,because she wants to find someone unique other than hi

15、s money or fame.As a resultofher character,she isdesignedby Merle and marriesGilbertwho isa hypocriticalman regardlessof thepersuasionofherrelatives.After their marriage, Gilbert uncovers his mask. He is so bad a man,andshe feel so miserable and tortured. But what she does makes no sense. Atlast, sh

16、e escapes from his bad husband.There comes a conclusionfrom the informationabove. Differentbackgroundand life experience leads to their differences in writing style and theclass they represent. Mark Twain dealt largely with the lower strata ofsociety. The main character, Huck Finn, is a illiterate c

17、hild, but kindand benevolent.Though he has a bad father,he does notfindany unfairnessto him butacceptstherealityhappily.In Twains novel,many dialectsare used, thus, sometimes its difficult for readers to understand,however, if you know the meaning hiding behind the words. You will besurprised and pr

18、aise his gift in organizing words. What is more, humoris a labelof Twains novels.Howells concerned himselfwithmiddleclasslife, Silas Lapham is a self-made millionaire, that is to say, he is amiddleclassperson who wants togo intotheupper class,butintheend,when facingthechoicebetween moralityand money, he choose theformer.Technically