William Dean Howells,

The Rise of Silas Lapham

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Reading Log Options:

 

• The relationship between money, status, and society:

But you're just one million times more interesting to the public than if you hadn't a dollar; and you know tht as well as I do, Mr. Lapham. (p. 3)

Why don't you get them into society? There's money enough! (p. 27)

 

• The relationship between city and country manners and values:

No, we're both country people, and we've kept our country ways, and we don't, either of us, know what to do. You've had to work so hard, and your luck was so long coming, and then it came with such a rush, that we haven't had any chance to learn what to do with it. (p. 27)

 

• The relationship between success and morality:

As he said, Lapham had dealt fairly by his partner in money; he had let Rogers take more money out of the business than he put into it; he had, as he said, simply forced out of it a timid and inefficient participant in advantages which he had created. But Lapham had not created the all. He had been dependent at one time o his partner's capital. It was a moment of terrible trial. Happy is the man forever afer who can choose the ideal, the unselfish part in such an exigency! Lapham could not rise to it. He did what he could maintain to be perfectly fair. The wrong, if any, seemed to be condoned to him, except when from tiem to time his wife brought it up. Then all the question stung and burned anew, and had to be reasoned out and put away once more. It seemed ot hav an inextinguishable vitality. It slept, but it did not die. pp. 43-44

 

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Research Log Options

 

• Read one or the nineteenth century reviews of The Rise of Silas Lapham published in the Norton Critical Edition and write a summary of that review, using appropriate quotations to illustrate your points.  What did the reviewer think Howells was trying to communicate, and what was the reviewers reaction? After summarizing, comment on what this review helps us understand about the ideas and attitudes of nineteenth century Americans. Finally, talk about whether this reviewer saw the novel--and the world--any differently than you do today?

• Bartley Hubbard tells Lapam that he "is just one million times more interesting to the public than if you hadn't a dollar." How did people acquire wealth in the nineteenth century? How did nineteenth century Americans feel about self-made men? Did they admire successful businessmen? Did they have any concerns about entrepreneurs or merchants? What determined status, and where did wealthy businessmen fit? And what was expected of rich citizens? To begin developing an answer, you might want to look at several of the following resources; collect quotations which seem to offer evidence of nineteenth century attitudes towards successful businessmen.

Biographies of successful entrepreneurs in the nineteenth century biographical dictionary, The Lives of Prominent Americans. Summarize the entries: what types of people are included; what characteristics, activities, or accomplishments are typically mentioned in these sketches; what attitudes do the writers expres towards these"prominent individuals"? Cite specific quotations to illustrate your points. Can you arrive at any hypotheses about status in the nineteenth century America based on your reading? Now go on to describe Silas Lapham. What are his characteristics, activities, and accomplishments? How do other people react towards him? (Be sure to use specific quotations from the Howells text to back up your point.) Do you think Howells was trying to make any kind of point about self-made men?

Visit  "Horatio Alger and the Self-Made Man" and read the description you will find there of nineteenth century American attitudes towards success. Talk about whether those same attitudes are illustrated in The Rise of Silas Lapham.

Read this editorial in Harper's New Monthly Magazine from 1853; what issues does it raise about businessmen? How do these relate to issues raised in the novel?

In the late nineteenth century, the founder of Temple University gave his speech, "Acres of Diamonds," over 6,000 times. What was his message about wealth and the wealthy, and why were so many people eager to hear it?

And if you want to compare nineteenth and twentieth century attitudes, you might find it interesting to read this short excerpt from a recent New Yorker article on Donald Trump.

• Much of the discussion and action in The Rise of Silas Lapham focuses on the house Silas is building on Boston's Back Bay.  Do some investigation to find out why building an impressive house was regarded as important by wealthy businessmen in the late nineteenth century. 

You can begin by reading the essay "The Great Homes of America's Gilded Age" which is part of an exhibit sponsored by the Flagler Museum; the exhibit includes pictures of nineteenth century mansions and a list of recommended readings.  In your research log, offer a brief explanation of the significance of house building in this period, and then go on to describe the ways in which Silas Lapham conforms (or fails to conform) to this standard of behavior. 

 

You might also be interested in taking a brief look at Harriet Hosmer's poem "Boston and Boston People in 1850." Although hardly great literature by any definition, Hosmer's poem gives us one nineteenth century American's viewpoint on how wealthy Bostonians treated the relationship between art, acquisition, and money. Finally, talk about how you think Howells is commenting on nineteenth century American life.  In other words, is he using Silas to endorse or criticise the beliefs and behavior of prosperous businessmen?

• Lapham and his wife seem to worry about whether the success of the paint business is the result of "fair" but immoral treatment of his early partner. How did nineteenth century Americans feel about the relationship between success and morality? Find out by reading some of the following: an editorial in Harper's New Monthly Magazine from 1853 on wealthy businesmen; the famous late nineteenth century "Acres of Diamonds Speech"; Andrew Carnegie's essay on "Wealth."; and Edward Bellamy's "Parable of the Coach." How do those texts represent the relationship between doing good and getting ahead? Do you find any of the same issues touched on in the Howells text?

• If you want to do a longer project, read one of Horatio Alger's books for boys.  You can find them at the library or by visiting the Horatio Alger, Jr. Resources site. Write a summary of the plot and an explanation of the "moral" of the story. After writing your summary, explain the ways in which Lapham's "rise" is like or unlike the one depicted by Alger in terms of its plot and meaning. What can these texts help us understand about nineteenth century American life and values?

 
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