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  • Essay / Individuation in James's As The Atonement With The Father

    Carl Jung was a notable Swiss psychiatrist who proposed many ideas, one of which included the concept of individuation. Individuation is the process by which an individual becomes whole by integrating the disparate parts of the psychological being into the Self. Or, as von Franz describes it, “the conscious acceptance of one's own inner center (psychic core) or Self” (Jung 169). This means that a person must learn to overcome while accepting all parts of their inner self, from the Shadow to the Anima/Animus. The process of individuation can be seen as a heroic journey. James's Daisy Miller: A Study reshapes the image of hero into heroine through Daisy's hero's journey and discovery of Self. During this trip he does this by taking her to the Colosseum where there is a risk of catching malaria. Even though he was neither a god nor god-like, Giovanelli was certain that he would not get sick. At one point he states that “as for me, I am not afraid” (James). But he's more than willing to play with Daisy's life. It was at this time that Daisy experienced her apotheosis. We don't see it from his point of view, but from Winterbourne. He realizes that she “was a young lady whom a gentleman need no longer care to respect” (James). When Daisy sees him, she recognizes that Winterbourne has had an epiphany. Perhaps she understood what the epiphany was, and that understanding is the blessing she must bring, not to the world, but to Winterbourne. After receiving the boon, Daisy embarks on the final part of the hero's journey called The Return. As with other aspects of the hero's journey, The Return is also divided into different stages: the refusal of return, the magical escape, the rescue from the outside, the crossing of the threshold of return, the master of the two worlds and the freedom to live. . Daisy's refusal to return came after the Colosseum. It is suggested that she refused to take the pill that would have saved her life. “I don’t care,” said Daisy, in a somewhat strange tone, “whether I have Roman fever or not!” (Jacques). This is how she caught Roman fever. His mother, Mrs. Miller, attempted to do so. Since a renaissance normally indicates some sort of cultural rebirth, I assume that a Harlem Renaissance would mean a cultural rebirth for black people of that era. McKay participated by creating poetry that illustrated the way his people lived and it was maligned. In the poem Africa, he explains that it was once the cradle of life, but now "You are the harlot, now your time is over" (13). And in “Harlem Shadows,” we are introduced to “little black girls” (5) who, because of “poverty, dishonor and disgrace” (14), were “in Harlem, wandering from street to street” (18). In other words, McKay claimed that little girls were forced into prostitution. Then in “America” he declares: “Even if she feeds me the bread of bitterness /And sinks her tiger’s tooth into my throat” (1-2). The “she” in the first line refers to America and indicates that the speaker is not being treated kindly. Finally, in “If We Must Die,” he asked his people to rise again so that “If we must die, let it not be like swine / Hunted and shut up in an inglorious place.”