After reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the 10th and 11th grades were given the directions to research about a novella we were about to begin: Daisy Miller by Henry James. After researching on the Internet and multiple library databases, the most interesting article that could be found about this short novel is “The Embedded Narratives of Science and Culture in James’s Daisy Miller”. This long research paper is well-written and structured, but is rather confusing for readers who have a below PhD understanding of the English language and theories. There were specifically ten phrases or words which appear to be either perplexing or too difficult for an average English speaker to understand.
1. “concominant”
According to Merriam Webster Online, it means “happening at the same time as something else”. Basically, this is a snobby way of saying “simultaenous”.
2. “biological paradigms”
Although it’s impossible Daisy Miller has anything to do with biology, the author of the research paper decided to add it in anyway. According to http://www.thefreedictionary.com, “paradigm” is “a pattern that may serve as a model or example”. Therefore, “biological paradigm” practically means biological pattern.
3. “British and Continental Darwinists”
Darwinists are the followers of Darwin’s theory of evolution. However, little could one know that there are different types of Darwinists such as British and Continental. (Not exactly positive about this though.)
4. “Phylogenetic sequence”
This article seems to be focused too much on science rather than the literature aspects of Daisy Miller. Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary development of organisms… I am not exactly sure how this has to do anything with Henry James’s novella…
5. “Flounce”
This is a simple looking word, but sometimes hard for others to know, since it is uncommonly used. It means to go or move in an exaggeratedly impatient or angry manner.
6. “Aesthetics”
One of the subtopics of the research paper is called “Culture, Aesthetics, Morality”. But what exactly does “aesthetics” mean? “Aesthetics” according to Google, is “a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, esp. in art.”
7. “Contingency”
I have honestly never seen this word before in my life. According to the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, “contingency” is “something (such as an emergency) that might happen”.
8. “Certitude”
This word keeps appearing in the research paper. According to Google, “certitude” is “absolute certainty or conviction that something is the case.”
9. “Eccentricities”
Not exactly a word that’s impossible to understand; in fact, it’s one of my favorite words. It comes from the word “eccentric” which means abnormal or weird. “Eccentricities” is the plural form of “eccentricity” which is “the quality of being eccentric.”
10. “Eloping”
Judging by the context this word was used in the sentece it was found in, it seems very disturbing. Apparenlty, to elope, is to run away and get secretly married. My instincts were right; that is disturbing.
Hopefully due to these brief explanations of some challenging words, people and students will be able to understand this lengthy paper much better.
American Literature 