Similarities Between The Portrait Of A Lady And The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

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The United States considers everyone as equal but some people may disagree because of the past that haunts the citizens of the country. Some people are frightened by the thought the country’s past and the thought of how people were treated. Slavery was an issue in the United States in the 1600’s to around mid 1800’s. Specifically slavery in the United States was the discrimination of African Americans. Slavery can be found in other areas all around the world not only in the United States. There are many stories in the United States that present slavery or enslavement as one of their main themes. Two of the main works that depict slavery are The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. These two …show more content…
In the story the main character, Isabel Archer, who was an American who went to England to visit with extended family. In the story she was asked her hand in marriage multiple times and refused each time. Then, when her uncle passes away he leaves her with a small fortune which she uses to go to Italy. In the story, she then falls for a man named Osmond who only wanted her for her money and not real love. He gets her to believe that he really loves her when in reality he doesn’t. He uses his words to convince her to marry him. For example, in the story Osmond says, “I 'm yours for ever--forever and ever. Here I stand; I 'm as firm as a rock. If you 'll only trust me, how little you 'll be disappointed. Be mine as I am yours. (Campion, 1997) This quote shows how he makes her fall in love with him by the use of her words just to use her for all of her fortune. Slavery is depicted in this story metaphorically by the way Osmond treats her. Isabel finds out that Osmond is not who she originally thought he was and she is unhappy but unable to leave him because of her friendship with his daughter Pansy. Osmond, Pansy’s father doesn’t approve of who she wants to marry; he wants her to marry Lord Warburton instead. In the story, Isabel feels like she can not leave Osmond because she doesn’t want to leave Pansy to marry someone she really doesn’t want to marry. So, in reality she feels trapped and feels like she has to stay with him no matter how unhappy she really

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