The Little Frenchman and his Water Lots

1. The Little Frenchman and his Water Lots By George Pope Morris Analyzed by Femi Jones

2. The Little Frenchman and His Water Lots is a short story about a French toy store owner who sold his business to purchase a piece of land in Long Island. He went to an auction and purchase a lot of land from an American auctioneer. As he went across the Atlantic ocean to inhabit his new home he was astonished to find that his land was concealed in water. He went back to confront the auctioneer about his findings and was greeted with rebuttal and bigotry. He wasn’t able to revoke his purchase and he wasn’t refunded. The story ends with him coping with his damned future and a trip back to Paris financially and emotionally bankrupt. The narrator continues to implement his view of the Frenchman stupidity being responsible of his misfortune rather that the swindling auctioneer. The Text

3. This short story is more than a silly scenario of a Frenchman’s mishap after a bad transaction with an American auctioneer. It is a manifestation of the societal issues that were occurring during the time it was created. Written in the nineteenth century, tones of arrogance and superiority was fluent in the flourishing U.S. Simultaneously across the Atlantic, French citizens were fighting for a representative democracy. As America was expanding its territory through imperialistic methods and motives, its industrial success in factories created a new social class. This social class was a strong influence on government policies. The literary meaning of this piece is to demonstrate and explain the notions that Americans have toward the French during the 19th century. Read Between the Lines

4. This story is a mirror of many societal issues that the U.S. and France were experiencing during the 19th century. The connection between the outside world and the short story is a mimetic theoretical approach of criticizing literature. It is no coincidence that the author characterized the villainous auctioneer as American and the foolish and exploited protagonist as French. This story showed how unapologetic and ruthless wealthy Americans can behave to make a profit. It also show how American can blame the swindle of their own misfortune. This “blame the victim” ideology is used to distract from the unethical business practices of American industrialists. Literary Theory

5. The United States was a newly independent country with a new form for government. Democracy was fragile and it was implemented in America for the first time. Presidents were elected by the people however now another factor was affecting his decisions; factions. Setting the Stage

6. A new social class was emerging in America. A class of owners of industry such as textiles and other items. This new class of industry owners and merchants had a strong influence on political decisions. Elected presidents that were supported by this group yielded to their demands. This was influential to the policies of the country. Industry Anyone?

7. A policy that was implemented and supported by the wealthy social class was Manifest Destiny. A term that described the notion that it was an American duty to spread democracy, explore and conquer all lands to the pacific coast. This policy led to the acquisition of California and Texas. The U.S. was becoming a successful and noticeably imperial nation. The next big operation was the Indian Removal Act. This was a governmental policy that relocated Native American nations to designated areas by force. America was becoming more imperialistic and more unethical. America in the 19th Century

8. During this time France was undergoing a social upheaval. After generations being ruled by a monarchy, the citizens of France were fighting for representative democracy. The fledgling countrymen looked to the United States as model and a cure to their social caste system. France in the 19th Century

9. A young sociologist by the names of Alexis de Tocqueville came to America and began to study its social structure. He noticed that the representative democracy that he wanted was really a reinvented caste system his fellow citizen were trying to break away from. He published his writing and his opinions for the public to recognize the caste system they were living in. Democracy was being tainted by factions, interest groups and businessmen. He contended that the aristocratic domination that was reinforced in France by nobility and land ownership was replace by an industrialist domination. Money Talks

10. The author used word choice to further the mental images that he built between the protagonist and the antagonist. To capture the disposition of the U.S. and France the author used stereotypical slurs such as Yankee doodle and Monsieur Poopoo. As the characters insulted each other Semiotics