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THE ANALYSIS OF CROSS CULTURE THAT FOUND IN THE NOVEL DAISY

MILLER BY HENRY JAMES

Cultural conflict is a type of conflict that occurs when different cultural values and
beliefs clash. It has been used to explain violence and crime. Jonathan H. Turner defines it as
a conflict caused by "differences in cultural values and beliefs that place people at odds with
one another".On a micro level, Alexander Grewe discusses a cultural conflict between guests
of different culture and nationality as seen in a British 1970 sitcom, Fawlty Towers. He
defines this conflict as one that occurs when people's expectations of a certain behavior
coming from their cultural backgrounds are not met, as others have different cultural
backgrounds and different expectations.

Cultural conflicts are difficult to resolve as parties to the conflict have different
beliefs. Cultural conflicts intensify when those differences become reflected in politics,
particularly on a macro level. An example of cultural conflict is the debate over abortion.
Ethnic cleansing is another extreme example of cultural conflict. Wars can also be a result of
a cultural conflict; for example the differing views on slavery were one of the reasons for the
American civil war.

In "Daisy Miller" by Henry James readers are challenged to take a look at an

American girl mainly from the viewpoint of Winterbourne. Daisy is portrayed as extremely
beautiful and fairly innocent. Winterbourne's infatuation with this typical American girl, in
fact, reveals the differences between the highly-developed European upper crust culture and
the newly developing American culture. Even though Winterbourne is American, he shows
readers what European culture is: civility, gallantry and apparent gap among social status etc.
Winterbourne's sophisticated manners contrast with Daisy's relatively poor education,
innocence and crudity. Therefore, the way Winterbourne's aunt criticizes about Daisy's
vulgarity symbolically indicates European high-minded pride over fledgling American
culture.

The dominant image concerning Daisy throughout the entire work is that she seems to
be frank and thus never tries to conceal her inner mind like the typical European girls with a
view to arresting attention from men. However, that prevailing image is bound to be changed
by the last twist of plot. At the moment of death, Daisy's wish is that Winterbourne should
know that she is not engaged with that Italian guy. Then, why? Actually, it is quite
ambiguous; none the less, her wish can be interpreted as her desperate trial to overcome the
European prejudices against shallow American culture. In other words, behind her vulgarity
and innocence, there is a fundamental desire to appreciate and enhance one's dignity even in
love affairs, which is not vulgar at all, and which makes Winterbourne study hard.

Embodied in this contrast is the moral theme in which the innocence of the American
is contrasted with the knowledge and experience (and evil) of the European. Daisy Miller is
one of James' earliest works involving this theme. All the comments presented here are not
found in this work, but for the sake of James' entire theory, it is useful to see how he took
some of the basic aspects found in Daisy Miller and used them consistently throughout his
fiction. The reader should also remember that James uses these ideas with a great deal of
flexibility. It does not always hold that every European will have exactly these qualities or
that every American will. Indeed, some of the more admirable characters are Europeans who
possess many of these qualities and in turn lack others. Because a European might possess
urbanity and knowledge and experience does not necessarily mean that he is artificial and
evil. And quite the contrary, many Americans come with natural spontaneity and are not
necessarily honest and admirable.

One of the great differences that is emphasized is the difference between the
American's spontaneity and the European's insistence upon form and ceremony. Daisy likes
to react to any situation according to her own desires. Even though people tell her that certain
things are improper, Daisy likes to do what she thinks is free and right. On the contrary, Mrs.
Walker would never act in any manner except that approved by all society. The American
than acts spontaneously, while the Europeans have formalized certain rituals so that they will
never have to confront an unknown situation. Thus, there is a sense of sincerity in the
American's actions, whereas the European is more characterized by a sense of extreme
urbanity. Throughout the novel, we never see Daisy perform any action but that which is
natural and open.

The American's sense of spontaneity, sincerity, and action leads him into natural
actions. He seems to represent nature itself On the other hand, the European's emphasis on
form, ceremony, ritual, and urbanity seems to suggest the artificial. It represents art as an
entity opposing nature.

Ultimately, these qualities lead to the opposition of honesty versus evil. This question
is not investigated in Daisy Miller, but in terms of James' final position, it might be wise to
know his final stand. When all American qualities are replaced by all of the European, we
find that form and ritual supplant honesty. The ideal person is one who can retain all of the
American's innocence and honesty, and yet gain the European's experience and knowledge.

In order to explore the differences between the two civilizations and the effect that
these have on the identity of the one coming from the New World, it is important to describe
the prototype of the American in Europe as opposed to the personality of the Europeans. The
heroes and heroines created by James incarnate, as Righelato notices, beauty, innocence,
freedom, vitality, frivolity and freshness as they are open to experience and they seem to
be more morally evolved. On the other hand, Europeans are characterized by cynicism,
corruption and sophistication. The Americans in Europe are projected in contrast with the
Old Worlds way of life: in the social setting with which they are identified, in the ways the
speak, as well as in what they say, the various characters range themselves along an axis that
runs from the natural to the cultivated, from the exuberant to the restrained . In addition to
this, Buitenhuis observes that another distinction is between European surfaces and
American depths, or between complexity and simplicity. The American hero,
beautiful, charming, simple, and to a certain extent ignorant, acts in a free, natural manner, a
manner not artificial and constrained as opposed to the self-consciousness of the ones he
meets. Briefly, as Cushing Strout reveals, the features of The New World, spotted as
qualities, are in opposition to those of The Old World, seen as inadequacies:

On the one side stand Liberty, Happiness, Innocence, and Simplicity, pointing
toward the Future, while separated by a pool of water [] stand Despotism, Misery,
Corruption, and Sophistication, wrapped in the shrouds of the Past
 Thus, Americans in Europe, as symbols of the New World, are characterized only by
positive traits, while the ones they meet, symbols of the Old World, are characterized only by
negative traits, meant to emphasize the huge contrast existing between these two cultures. It
is this contrast that is responsible for Americans misunderstanding of the new space and
their difficulties in living among the people from the Old Continent.

focuses exactly on these aspects, describing the opposition between two national
cultures and between those pertaining to them. It presents Daisy Miller, a charming
spontaneous American girl, who ends up being the victim of the rigid social conventions of
the new world she confronts herself with.

The story deals with the differences in mentality of the two countries, and it also
informs about the way in which the new comer looks upon his own country and culture after
having the opportunity to see a distinct one. The journey, the international dialogue may have
a positive effect on the American, as it gives him the possibility of comparing his home
country with another one and judging upon the qualities of these conflicting societies. Daisy,
on one hand, is absolutely delighted with the Old Continent and with the high society she
wishes to enter: she says that Europe is perfectly sweet. Her brother, Randolph, on the
other hand, considers Schenectady, his hometown, to be far superior to Europe, particularly
in the quality of candy available: I cant get any candy here any American candy.
American candys the best candy. He also affirms, when talking about his father, that the
latter is in a better place than Europe.This illustrates the Americans view on the old
continent, which can vary from person to person, some of them considering The New World
greater than anything, and others not.

Daisy represents one of the new comers upon whom Europe seems to have cast a
spell. She is nave and only sees the best side of everything, not being able to predict that this
lack of understanding of another way of life will bring her loss. As Lund observes, she is an
innocent colonial captivated by a more worldly space.

One important aspect related to the New World is its innocence, and whether or not
the American can preserve this quality in a space of vice and complexity. As Oltean puts it,
an important question arises: Is it possible to keep your American innocence despite the
corruption?. Daisy Miller also deals with Winterbournes struggle to understand whether the
young American girl is innocent or not, as she always appears to be highly intriguing. Daisy
finds her values in conflict with the European ones and she does not understand the new
social conventions. It looks as if everything she does is wrong and she gets criticized for it.
Up to a point Winterbourne considers her to be innocent yet uncultivated, but in the end
public opinion gets in the way of his true evaluation, and he accepts and adopts the general
view. As Randall states, he misjudges character through manners because he is entirely
too much in awe of public opinion and hesitates to judge or act for himself. The end of the
tale comes as a disambiguation of all the mystery created around the main female character,
and one can tell that she was, in fact, beyond doubt, innocent. What is tragic is that she never
understood the results that her actions might bring upon herself, and, as Buitenhuis detects,
she dies innocent and wronged, but she can hardly arouse deep feelings of sympathy since
she has very little comprehension of the causes of her fate A nave and blameless person,
she lives her European experience with great greediness, but, regrettably, she is touched by
the destructive power that the old, mean continent encompasses. The contrast between
Americans and Europeans is remarkably used by James with the purpose of highlighting the
Americans innocence, provided that, as it has been stated before, only in the presence of
each other their traits can be fully identified, or, as Oltean explains, these two poles of the
world give sense to each other.

In conclusion, Daisy Miller shows the outcome of European life on the Americans
identity, and the way in which an American, in the person of Daisy Miller, may end up to be
the victim of a different social and moral system, which she cannot understand. The
differences between America and Europe, or, more exactly between the New and the Old
World, and Europes sophistication and corruption, reflected in the opinions of its
inhabitants, can lead to disaster the young inexperienced American who finds himself/herself
confronted with these bizarre values. Nevertheless, Henry James portrayed Daisy Miller as a
person who can preserve her identity, by not allowing the new society to restrict her freedom,
even if it is this attitude that leads to her death.