Henry Miller

In Walking Up and Down in China, Henry Miller Speaks of two separate lives—a life in America and a life in Paris. With his surrealist literary style, some might read him as extremely negative and hateful towards his own country, America. The way I look at it, Miller seems discouraged by his country, feeling like an outsider. He states, “I could not believe, being a man of the American continent, that there was a place on earth where a man could be himself. By force of circumstances I became a Chinaman—a Chinaman in my own country” (387). By the term “Chinaman” I see this as him calling himself an outsider. He speaks of the “hideousness of a life in which I had no part”—I interpret his hate towards this life as not about life in general, but more of a lifestyle. I think that things have happened to him in his past that have made him pessimistic towards so.

Within this reading, I see hostility towards the aesthetic of “perfection”. The way the avenues and streets are spoken of, I believe Miller is at one point describing New York City. The “smiles” of the population surrounding him are what piss him off the most. He states, “The living walked right over the dead, smiling all the while to advertise their beautiful white teeth. Its this cruel white smile that sticks in my memory. I see it in my sleep when I put out my hand to beg—the George C. Tilyou smile that floats above the spangled bandanas at Steeplechase. America smiling at poverty. It costs so little to smile—why not smile as you ride along in an open barouche? Smile, smile. Smile and the world is yours. Smile through the death rattle—it makes it easier for those you leave behind. Smile, damn you! The smile that never comes off!” (389). There is a sense of fakeness within America that Miller seems to be longing to separate himself from. The act of performing as if everything is fine and dandy, when in all reality there are troubles surrounding you.

Contrasting to his perception of Americans, Miller speaks of the faces he witnesses in France and appreciates and is impressed by the blemishes within because he believes that there is truth being shed. There is no sense of fraud attempting to be exhibited, just reality.  This theme of reality is constant throughout this piece. There is a question of what is real? Is it reality or is it all psychological interpretation? This is where I can see eye to eye with Miller. Dealing with reality can be so difficult at times that it is necessary to create our own realities whether it is actually real or not.  I feel like with Miller, it is hard to tell what is real at times because he is not sure himself what he is experiencing is real or not.