The work Daisy Miller, by Henry James contains many key words that stand out to a reader. Many of these words repeated through out the text, and their meanings can change as a reader continues to read. Some of these words appear as many as 51 times like “American”, or “society” which only appears 12 times. When put together, these key words tend to show the reader what the story or work is truly about. One word that appears more than any other is “young”, which appears 138 times in the text. The purpose of this paper is to show, through a single word analysis, how the word “young” changes and develops in one’s reading of Daisy Miller. As stated in the Introduction, the word “young” appears in Daisy Miller 116 times. It is used as an adjective
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Daisy Miller is most often referred to as a “young girl”, “young lady”, or “young American”. The word “young” is used through out the entire work, but it is most prominent in the beginning when the reader is first meeting Daisy. Sometimes, it can be found as many as six times within one page. When the reader first realizes the word “young”, it is used from Winterbourne’s point of view as he sees her off in the distance. As she approaches he is infatuated by how “young” and beautiful she is. I believe Henry James used “young” to describe Daisy Miller so the reader will think that Daisy is innocent and harmless. Henry James tends to use the adjective “young” to label Daisy when she is performing actions that are extremely innocent such as, smoothing the ribbons on her dress, or uses the respectful phrase “yes sir” to her elder, Winterbourne. Both of these examples can be found on page 11. One can also assume that James was trying to make it known to the reader that Daisy Miller is “young” in the sense that she is only a teenager, and her actions are also immature. At first, the reader sees that she acts like a child when flirting with Winterbourne, as if she has a small crush. She flirts carelessly as if she does not know any better, or as a “young” girl would. As the story develops we find that
Daisy Miller is most often referred to as a “young girl”, “young lady”, or “young American”. The word “young” is used through out the entire work, but it is most prominent in the beginning when the reader is first meeting Daisy. Sometimes, it can be found as many as six times within one page. When the reader first realizes the word “young”, it is used from Winterbourne’s point of view as he sees her off in the distance. As she approaches he is infatuated by how “young” and beautiful she is. I believe Henry James used “young” to describe Daisy Miller so the reader will think that Daisy is innocent and harmless. Henry James tends to use the adjective “young” to label Daisy when she is performing actions that are extremely innocent such as, smoothing the ribbons on her dress, or uses the respectful phrase “yes sir” to her elder, Winterbourne. Both of these examples can be found on page 11. One can also assume that James was trying to make it known to the reader that Daisy Miller is “young” in the sense that she is only a teenager, and her actions are also immature. At first, the reader sees that she acts like a child when flirting with Winterbourne, as if she has a small crush. She flirts carelessly as if she does not know any better, or as a “young” girl would. As the story develops we find that