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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page paper which examines the artistic or aesthetic values the author is promoting and how James employs irony and conflict to develop this message. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGrealthng.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Jamess short story, "The Real Thing," which was first published back in 1892. The artist narrates a tale of searching for authentic genteel models to sketch for his "pot-boilers"
(James 4). When he is introduced to Major Monarch and his wife, he is overjoyed because what could be more rewarding than to immortalize on canvas an actual aristocrat
and his lady? But the artist soon discovers that the real thing is not always the most artistically satisfying. The central conflict in this short story is the
aesthetic problem between reality and fantasy, as the author probes the value of art for arts sake, and whether or not it could be compromised by being bought and sold.
What this means is that the artist is justified in going to any length to ensure the quality of the art, even if it means obscuring the path between
real and make-believe. With "The Real Thing," James uses both class conflict and irony to illustrate his point. Times were changing in the very class-oriented England by the end
of the nineteenth century. Once upon a time, artists were financed by wealthy patrons, which allowed them to freely create without thinking about making a living. But a
predominantly capitalist economy meant that all goods and services, including works of art, came at a price. When the artist first meets the attractive couple, he envisions receiving wealth
and recognition as a result of his portraits. He does not regard this as in any way selling out, and defends his position by declaring, "I looked to a
different branch of art (far and away the most interesting it had always seemed to me), to perpetuate my fame. There was no shame in looking to it also
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