Mr. Winterbourne is fake!

Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
March 5, 2008
Journal #36 Henry James


Quote:
"..when his friends spoke of him , they usually said he was at Geneva "studying"(James 392).



Summary:
The narrator is introducing the reader to Mr. Winterbourne.



Response:
The first comment I want to say is just how fake Winterbourne is. He comes off as a very pretentious, self-centered and stuck up man. Of course I do not blame him considering that he has grown up around money and the aristocratic society all his life. I loved the discussion that we had in class today because Scott did such a great job of getting the class to pick up on the subtle hints throughout the book. When I first read the book I knew that Winterbourne came from a wealthy family but I did not pick up on the attitude that James gives Winterbourne. I called Winterbourne fake earlier because he wants everyone to think of him as better than he really is. For example he tells all his friends that he is off "studying" in Geneva when he is actually courting a older woman. The question that I have is why Doesn't he just tell his friends that he is seeing an older woman? Is this not an acceptable social practice that men in the gilded age practice? I first I want to say that he is actually covering up his own lie, the lie being that he is not really seeing an older woman. Isn't it convenient for him to be seeing another woman in a different country and nobody has met or seen her? I just do not see him as a genuine person. I'm jumping ahead but I see the story as him getting played by Daisy. Just as he plays on woman, he likewise gets played. Another way that Winterbourne is fake is how he acts as if he is in Sweden under important business. The reality is that he is only visiting his Aunt so that she will continue to fund his travels. He does not work nor study so he has no real business in Sweden except for checking out the woman in the garden at the hotel. "...looking about him, rather idly, at some of the graceful objects I have mentioned"(James 391). Winterbourne is only at the hotel because he is checking out the woman in the garden. Really important business don't you think? His purpose at the hotel serves only as a self serving one. The best part about all this is that the player gets played.