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Essay / ||||Within each of us lies the potential for good and evil, virtue and vice. Our daily actions reflect the combination of good and evil in a world that is neither black nor white. In literature, however, characters often represent total goodness or vice in a world that leaves no room for a duality of nature. Winterbourne has the idea that Daisy Miller must be restrictively good or bad, but the concept is not as black and white as he perceives it to be. A realistic portrayal of Daisy Miller as an infusion of good and evil – virtue and vice – in a world full of gray increases her moral influence on us, for we too have an inherent dual nature in an imperfect world. A quest into the nature of young American Daisy Miller is the task Winterbourne seems to struggle with thanks to his knowledge. Winterbourne “felt that he had lived in Geneva so long that he had lost many things; he had become unaccustomed to the American tone… Was she just a pretty girl from New York State – were they all like that, the pretty girls who had a good share of gentlemen's society? Or was she also a creative, daring and unscrupulous young person? (13). Conflicts arise in this man's mind as he struggles to find an answer to the question: "Is Daisy a good daughter?" A clear answer to the question hints at Winterbourne as he continually answers "yes" or "no" to the dispute. Many occasions lead Winterbourne to answer in the affirmative – Daisy is a good girl – at least he gives her the benefit of the doubt. Daisy “was just a pretty American coquette. Winterbourne was almost grateful to have found the formula that applied to Miss Daisy Miller” (14). The certainty that hovers around Winterbourne while he is in the middle of paper......cence, we strive for the goodness that Daisy maintains. Although we often seek a clear answer to the question “What is right?” ”, the answer is not always as clear as Winterbourne unconsciously admits. time to examine the flaws and strengths we see in Miss Daisy Miller. Like us, this young American woman is completely human – possessing a dual nature of virtue and sin – and because of her realistic nature, she has a greater moral influence on us. We realize that the problem is not black and white as Winterbourne points out, but rather complex and two-sided in a world that has more gray than black or white. Works Cited James, Henry. Margaret Miller. New York: Dover Publications Inc..., 1995.
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