The Role of Imagery: Analysis of James' 'Beast in the Jungle'

This essay delves into the use of imagery, particularly light and darkness, in Henry James' novella "The Beast in the Jungle" to explore themes of loneliness, hope, and the elusive nature of destiny. It argues that the protagonist, Henry Marcher, embodies the modern dilemma of meaninglessness as he awaits a life-altering event, symbolized by the 'beast.' The essay highlights Marcher's skepticism and self-obsession, which blind him to the significance of May Bertram's presence in his life, representing a missed opportunity for love and fulfillment. Through detailed analysis, the essay concludes that the 'beast' Marcher anticipates is, in fact, his own inability to recognize and embrace the transformative power of love, a realization that dawns upon him only after May's death, underscoring the novella's exploration of fate and self-awareness.

Running Head: ROLE OF IMAGERY IN “THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE”
Role of Imagery in "The Beast in the Jungle"
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author's Note:

1ROLE OF IMAGERY IN “THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE”
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................4
Reference....................................................................................................................................5

2ROLE OF IMAGERY IN “THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE”
Introduction
"The Beast in the Jungle" was published in the year 1903 and is considered to be one
of the best works by James and has made him an equivalent contributor to modern literature
of the modern period. It was initially published in 'The Better Sort,' which was a volume of
short stories. The novella brings out the modern dilemma of being lost and meaninglessness
of life, which could not be assessed. The psychological aspect of the tale deals with the
portrayal of the uncertainty of life, which lies in trying to understand destiny. The paper will
deal with the theme of loneliness and hope, as depicted through imagery in the form of light
and darkness in the novella. The thesis statement for the paper is the use of imagery to show
the beast residing in the form of Marcher's other-self, which can be seen as the alter-ego and
the journey, which finally exposes the irony that the lost life was the beast he was supposed
to discover.
Discussion
The novella deals with the characteristic trait of modern literature- skepticism. The
central character, Henry Marcher, is shown to be the man who wastes his entire life trying to
anticipate the occurrence of an event that will change his life and will show the world the
difference he possessed with others. The novella deals with the uncertainty that Marcher felt
related to his destiny when it comes to the life-changing turn of the event which he thinks is
like a 'beast' watching for him to lose control so that it can be unleashed setting his life on the
track in which he meant to live it. It deals with the theme of the uncertainty of destiny in
modern life, and the character of Marcher, though is also the narrator of the novella, stays
mainly unaware of the happening in others' life (Müller). He stays unaware of the importance
of the most important event of his life, which is the return of May Bertram in his life.
Marcher, in his attempt to wait and analyze the change of condition of life to change it
narrows his view and is shown to have become enclosed in a circle that does not recognize or

3ROLE OF IMAGERY IN “THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE”
validates anything outside it. The novella is told from a third-person narrative, which puts us
as equivalent to Marcher, who uses his life journey as the narrow scope to view the vastness
of fate and destiny. Through the narrative itself, we can see James' technique of depicting the
role of May in the novella (James). She is shown to have met Marcher during the time of his
life when he was surrounded by people who knew too much and, in turn, knew nothing. The
life of uncertainty where people indulged in an optional activity which makes him feel like he
is living inside a shadow.
The hopelessness is paired with the meaningful fulfillment of love, which Marcher
fails to recognize his whole life. As the reader, it is not hard to notice that James named the
character Marcher, through which one can extract the name of the month March, which
represents the season of spring, a season of rebirth, rejuvenation. Nevertheless, Marcher,
because of his anticipation and self-obsession, does not live a single moment of his life
entirely (Hocks). However, the narration of his time with May shows him to be deviating
from his narcissism. Again, May represents the summer season in its prime, which the
character of May through her devotion ends up losing. May In her devotion towards him. The
presence of May is always preceded by an appearance of light in the novella giving the
readers a clear notion of hope that she brings to his life.
The first time, readers get to know May is in a place where pieces of arts were present
in number, and yet Marcher felt out of place as if trying to escape the certainty of the
moment. He could not bear to withstand the company when he saw her, in the distance
looking at him, and they decided to fall back from their friends in the same place before even
talking to each, proving that this was the event that Marcher was waiting for his entire life
(Hannah). Nevertheless, Marcher was waiting for a beast that would reshape his life entirely,
and the intensity would be such that along with him, everyone around would be able to set it
apart. The narrative shows the occurrence of the red light is reflected in the autumn sky,

4ROLE OF IMAGERY IN “THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE”
showing that a considerable amount of their life has been lost, which the narrative clarifies
when he says that May was not as young as she was when he met her ten years back.
May's memory of their last meeting was fresh and accurate, and on the other hand,
every little detail given by Marcher was wrong. It depicts that he was preoccupied even back
then and had missed the opportunity of understanding the turn of events in his life. He lived
in the dilemma that no one except for him knew that he was living in anticipation, but when
she reminds him that he had told her about a change of event which was expected in his life
or as he calls it 'the beast' waiting to leap at him. Again the imagery of light appears showing
that he would not feel alienated and alone as he felt in every single gathering (Gale). As a
reader, we see waning of the same light from his life after her death when he stood at her
grave for an hour, unable to gather the strength to navigate through the darkness, which has
taken the place of light.
Conclusion
The novella constitutes the story of a man who is unable to comprehend and assess
the event around his own life because of his habit of living cooped in himself. One can
conclude that the beast he spent his life looking for was never once apart from him. It was his
mind that reined over the occurrence taking away from him the chance of recognizing the
event of love, which would have changed his life for better or for worse had he accepted it. It
was only after the death (loss) of May; he understands that she was the change he was
waiting for his entire life. May's sacrifice of her prime and her life is understood only after
her death, which serves Marcher as well as her no good.

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Reference
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Henry James's" Beast in the Jungle". Gale,
Cengage Learning, 2016.
Hannah, Daniel. "Beasts in the Jungle: Henry James, William James, and the Animal
Turn." Modernism/modernity 24.2 (2017): 371-390.
Hocks, Richard A. Henry James and Pragmatistic Thought: A Study in the Relationship
between the Philosophy of William James and the Literary Art of Henry James. UNC Press
Books, 2017.
James, Henry. "The Beast In The Jungle". Pdfs.Semanticscholar.Org, 2020,
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d65f/36458642d29cae553f0af41b624d29748054.pdf?
_ga=2.10703607.251976218.1585153373-1077137485.1582523807.
Müller, Timo. "Review Essay: Henry James and Transatlantic Modernism." The Henry
James Review 38.1 (2017): 101-107.