opfallstar.blogg.se - The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells

The theme of the individual and the city is particularly relevant to The Rise of Silas Lapham.

1 A Christian at His Calling quoted in Making America, The Society and Culture of the U.S., 301.ġThus wrote Cotton Mather 1 in 1701 and although he had fellow-christians in mind, his words hold true for all men regardless of religion: from the cradle to the grave we are an individual isolated in the little island of the self but we are at the same time one of the human family-a double status which must be taken account of.ĢWhen cities developed after the industrial revolution this kind of questions were aired anew: is there an ideal setting for the course of man’s life? Do cities make for happier persons and better human beings?ģThe problem has been addressed by many writers and Howells is one of them.