Appearance Vs. Reality Essay -- essays research papers

One of the characteristics of Realism, in American literature at least, is the ironic use of perceptions of â€Å"appearance† vs. â€Å"reality.† With this in mind, Henry James’s â€Å"The Real Thing† and â€Å"The Beast in the Jungle† are two works wherein such characteristics can be shown to operate as James employs cleverly woven twists of â€Å"appearance† and â€Å"reality† in each of the plots. In James’s â€Å"The Real Thing,† the plot is centered on an unnamed artist and his interactions with two sets of models: the Monarchs (members of genteel society), and Miss Churm and Oronte (members of the working class). The ironically named Monarchs are a couple who appear as though they have â€Å"ten thousand a year† but whose lives diverge dramatically from the literal definition of a monarch. Upon introduction to the artist, they unwittingly deceive him into initially assuming that they are interested in commissioning a portrait; in fact, the Monarchs are seeking work as sitters. The case of mistaken identity is further compounded by the artist who pretends to be a â€Å"great painter of portraits† but who is actually an illustrator whose depictions of nobility constitute his main source of income – his â€Å"pot-boilers.† James’s introductory interplay of character identity with appearance and reality serves as a clever backdro p for the story where reality conflicts with appearance. While their outward social appearance and actions have an â€Å"indefinable air of prosperous thrift† and personify that of high-class society, the Major and Mrs. Monarch are actually penniless and no longer members of the genteel sect. But the Monarchs are unable to resolve their â€Å"appearance† of high society with their â€Å"reality† of financial destitution, and remain psychologically entrapped in a self-imposed netherworld of pseudo-culture and pseudo-class. Insistent upon being treated as members of the high society to which they no longer belong, the Monarchs also present a conflict of appearance and reality for the artist because he is forced to allow them the social deference of portrait sitters, yet pay them as models (viewed as their â€Å"superior but not their equal†). The complexity of appearance vs. reality is further illustrated when the artist realizes that while Major and Mrs. Monarch may appear to be the â€Å"real thing,† he i s unable to transform their outward reflection of nobility onto his canvas without sacrificing his ... ...m. James counters Marcher’s emotional distance from reality with May Bartram’s embrace of life – and love. But it is through the voyeuristic glimpse into Marcher’s internal machinations that readers understand the waste of a life based upon appearances. Like the Monarchs in â€Å"The Real Thing† whose marriage to appearances entrapped them in world devoid of emotion, John Marcher’s identity is innately linked to â€Å"fine things, intrinsic features, pictures, heirlooms, and treasures of the arts† and he is similarly constrained in a self-imposed world of apathy. Although it appears that Marcher has an enriched life, he is actually a man with â€Å"†¦ rather colourless (emphasis added) manners† who is satisfied to wait for the elusive â€Å"great thing† to happen. Because Marcher remains afraid to confront the â€Å"beast† (the metaphoric unknown in life), it is not until the death of May Bartram that he realizes her love for him was the â€Å"great thing,† and that he was waiting for something that he unknowingly possessed. The simple truth that John Marcher recognized – albeit too late – is that â€Å"It wouldn’t have been failure to be bankrupt, dishonour ed, pilloried, hanged; it was failure not to be anything.†