ounty” (759). So Basically, Butler lived off the sweat of others while he fished or sat and gossiped with the locals. Nevertheless, Council manages to get Haskins into a deal to lease “the Higley place” (760) for three years with the option to buy at the end of the term. During the three years, Haskins worked like a “fiend” (761) to improve it and to make it livable. After the term was up, Haskins tells Butler that he thinks he can buy the place, expecting to pay what Butler had offered it for three years ago. Ironically, Butler tells Haskins that the farm is now double the original price because, “It (the farm) was all run down then; now it’s in good shape. You’ve laid out fifteen hundred dollars in improvements, according to your own story” (763). Notice that Butler’s speech is much more elegant than Haskins’—does this mean that he is good? This is obviously not. Haskins is furious to the point of almost stabbing Butler with a pitchfork; the tinkling sound of laughter from Haskins’ daughter saves Butler’s life. Still savage with anger Haskins tells Butler, “Make out y’r deed an’ mor’gage, an’ git off’n my land, an’ don’t ye never cross my line agin; if y’ do, I’ll kill ye” (764). Using the lingo of Haskins, Garland has managed to let us see through the windows of Haskins and feel his frustration. Garland was a realist, and he wanted us to get a real view of this troubled time. Butler’s polished language makes us think him civilized, while in truth the chopped up language of Haskins and Council covers the true gentlemen. Dialect plays a prominent role in this story as well as in Henry James’ Daisy Miller.In Daisy Miller, James presents a story of an American girl thrust into the socially advanced European world. The clash of the cultures is evident in the langua...
