2. What method does James use in Chapter 22 to build suspense? How did Mrs. Bread find
out about the murder? Why does she say she
has not shown the note to anyone? Why do
you think she decides to give it to Christo-
pher Newman?
3. Throughout the story, James carefully por-
trays his American hero as morally superior
to the corrupt European aristocracy. In what
ways does Christopher Newman's burning
of the note illustrate his moral superiority?
The narrator states that he does not pretend
to say whether Newman's decision not to
seek revenge stemmed from “Christian
charity or unregenerate good nature.” Find
quotations from Chapters 2 and 26 which
show that Newman's motivation is not the
result of a Christian perspective.
4. Why do you think many readers have been
dissatisfied with the ending of James's story?
Would you like to change the ending? Why or
why not? Is the ending realistically consistent
with what you have read of the novel?
5. How do these excerpts from The American,
which had been praised by some twentieth-
century critics as one of James's best novels,
reveal the following Jamesian characteris-
tics: a deep interest in character develop-
ment, a tendency to make the reader
carefully analyze the characters' words and
actions, and a dependence on conversation
for plot development?