A Traveler From Altruria Book Analysis

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A Traveler from Altruria Book Analysis The novel A Traveler From Altruria written by W. D. Howells incorporates many of the main ideas that were present in America during the 1890's as well as some that are still around today. W. D. Howells does a great job portraying these ideas, morals and values through four characters that the Altrurian visits with on a few occasions. These characters, the lawyer, the minister, the novelist and the professor. Through these characters he illustrates exactly what is wrong with American society and the general views involved with these problems. He shows that most of these people don't focus on how things in America should be they just deal with them how they are. The character of the lawyer displays this very well. On many occasions when Howells and the Altrurian were speaking to their group of discussion partners the lawyer displayed the single most important problem with the law. He said instead of justice he deals with, “rather more with the question of law,” “but, still, I have a great interest in questions of justice, and I confess that I find a certain wild equity in this principle, which I see nobody can do business on,” (Howells 37). What the lawyer is saying here is that even though the whole point of having law is to create a system based on justice this doesn't always tend to be the case. Many things happen in America which are not just but if a person can get away with it, and it will benefit them, they don't seem to care much about the justice involved. During another discussion the men were debating the first principle of business. The lawyers response indicated that business was not based on morals, it was established on each man looking for what was best for himself or for his business. He explained the, “great syndicates have no scruples in destroying a capitalist who won't come into them or who tries to
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