Mary Anne Balane

March 27, 2015

English 103 WFV
Short Paper 3
Write an essay discussing how the depiction of Silas Lapham in the novel, the circumstances in which he finds himself, the decisions he
makes, make for a depiction too of the emergent American character.
Note the aspects of Laphams development/retrogression in the novel and comment on how you think this makes America/makes the
American?
While Lapham is decidedly a 19th century fictional character, do you think the valuation with which he is depicted in the novel is simply
an exaggeration of the American character? Or do you think it has [an]other function/s? If so, what is/are this/these?

Even though making the American has always been one of the primary concerns of American
literature throughout its history, the 19th century saw a particular rise in the preoccupation of many novel
and essays with exploring whether directly, like in Ralph Waldo Emersons Self-Reliance, or
indirectly, like in Walt Whitmans Democratic Vistas the idea of what it really means to be an
American. Published in 1884, William Dean Howellss The Rise of Silas Lapham is really a product of its
time. However, it is not merely another attempt at making the American but a narrative that challenges
some preconceived notions of the American character. Indeed, this novel provides a detailed description
and prescription of a certain type of American at the time through its eponymous protagonist.
The novel begins with Silas Lapham being interviewed for the Solid Men of Boston series of
the local newspaper. Through the reporters eyes, the reader gets to know Lapham as a fine type of the
successful American (2). This interview is an apt introduction because, as proven by the rest of the
novel, the characterization of Lapham is primarily brought about by his relationship with business and
money. The reporters blunt comment on how Lapham is one million times more interesting to the public
than if he hadnt a dollar shows how, in order to make it in American society, one has to be established
financially (ibid). This mirrors how America as a nation really rose or came to international renown not
because of their superior culture the lack of which Whitman calls attention to in his Democratic Vistas
but because of their economic and industrial prowess. Then again, it must be noted that this
characterization of Lapham is coloured by the reporters own mindset and judgment. During the
interview, Lapham himself seems to feel that it is more important to share information about his family
and his other personal values rather than the success story that the reporter aims to extract from him.
However, the narrative eventually reveals Lapham as someone who does take pride in his financial status.
He repeatedly brags about how he can buy this or that and, in doing so, reaffirms his identity as largely
based on the amount of money in his pockets. However, these instances are not just manifestations of
pride but also emphases on how Lapham is a self-made man. This identity of Lapham as someone who
made his fortune from scratch figures largely into the novels exaggeration of the emergent American
character. How his first years [in the paint business] were given to careful getting on Laphams part and
careful saving on his wifes even recall the Puritan virtues of industry and frugality qualities that the
novel still considers integral to the American character (33).
Lapham starts encountering struggles in both his personal life and his paint business when he
begins to be concerned about getting into society. Earlier in the novel, the Laphams are described as, if
not entirely indifferent or dismissive of the customs in their society, having no skill or courage to make
themselves noticed (35). However, once they become acquainted with the Coreys, Mrs. Lapham begins
to get the idea that they ought to do something, i.e. start climbing the social ladder, for the sake of their
daughters. Even though Lapham initially sort of mocks his wife for her suggestion, he eventually grows
even more attached than her to this pursuit. While all the characters in this novel are legitimately
American and the Coreys themselves represent a certain class, i.e. the gentry, of American society, there is
the sense that the Laphams are more American than the Coreys. In contrast to the somehow rustic ways
of the Laphams, the Coreys way of life seems to be more of a remnant of a grandiose British past and
therefore something that needs to be phased out and has no room for the America being paved by the

true Americans such as the Laphams. The conversation between father and son in Chapter V reveals a
lot about the Corey familys European roots and tendencies; the father is even caught advocating real
aristocracy and the feudal system which goes against the democratic ideals that an American should
have (92). The Laphams attempt to integrate themselves into this outdated idea of society ends up, in one
way or another, being to their detriment and with the implication that they should not have been doing
something so out of (their American) character in the first place. Instead, the narrative implies that they
should have been looking ahead, not backwards to the traditions upheld by the Corey family. Although
this observation seems to render the American as a crude character, the point that The Rise of Silas
Lapham seems to be making is that America should stop looking up to these European constructs, e.g. the
institution of the gentry, as their standards. Furthermore, Tom Coreys breaking away from and, to some
extent, dishonouring his familys traditions not just by becoming involved in the paint business but also
by falling in love with the unlikely girl shows how the emergent American character is already moving
away from its European roots and being self-reliant.
Although or perhaps especially because Lapham is depicted as a businessman first and foremost,
the novel also greatly focuses on his morality. For one, there is the whole debacle with the sketchy
property his former business partner sold him that leads him to lose some of his money. Even though he
could have succumbed to dishonesty and sold the property to the interested English parties, Lapham
chose to hold on to his principles than save his business. Additionally, his continued support of Jim
Millons family despite what his wife thought of him doing so and him no longer really having the
capability to support them shows his unique integrity. Indeed, even though it may have appeared in the
beginning that money-making is the main concern of the American and that the emergent American
character is emergent because he is on the rise to success and wealth, it is Laphams failure and doubt
and heartache that restored him. . . the manhood which his prosperity had so nearly stolen from him
(506). Perhaps the rise that the title of the novel alludes to is not really that of either material or social
quality since Lapham ultimately fails in both but him rising up from the trappings of money and
society. Drawing from these observations, the American is really someone who is defined primarily by his
morals, by the virtues of honesty, integrity, and democracy as opposed to his financial and social standing.
Apart from being an exaggeration of the American character, The Rise of Silas Lapham is more
importantly an implicit call for Americans to look beyond their material and social preoccupations and
instead focus on how they can improve themselves ethically. While the novel is careful to not depict being
wealthy as intrinsically linked to being immoral, it does imply that being in a position of material wealth
induces a person to forgo other more important matters. Lapham is able to overcome these temptations
but at the cost of his business and social reputation. However, through this retrogression, Lapham is able
to retain or, rather, finally completely embody the emergent American character.
Works Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter
et al. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print. 1622-38.
Howells, William Dean. The Rise of Silas Lapham. 1884. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1912. Print.
Whitman, Walt. Democratic Vistas. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul
Lauter
et al. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 2845-54. Print.
I value intellectual integrity and the highest standards of academic conduct. I am committed to an ethical learning environment that promotes a
high standard of honor in scholastic work. Academic dishonesty undermines institutional integrity and threatens the academic fabric of the
University of the Philippines. And because I believe that dishonesty is not an acceptable avenue to success, I affix my signature to this work to
affirm that it is original and free of cheating and plagiarism, and does not knowingly furnish false information.
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Mary Anne Balane