George Odger Funeral In the Henry James passage, repulsive yet respectful tones reflect James’s feelings while attending Mr. George Odger’s funeral. He describes the people of the funeral as the dregs of the population which, in other words, refers to them as the most worthless part of society. However, at the same time, James gives a sense of respect towards their hard work and describes them as honorable. Henry James uses a peculiar diction. His words with strong connotations create the repulsive yet respectful tone of the passage. When James uses words such as “perverse”, “socially unrepresented”, and “dregs” to describe the public at the funeral, it gives you the sense of repulse he feels towards this type of people. On the other hand,
