Great American Novel
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| - | While fiction was written in colonial America as early as the 17th century, it was not until a distinct "American" identity developed during the 18th century that what is understood to be "American literature" began. America's identity as a nation was reflected alongside the development of its literature.{{citation needed|date = December 2013}} | + | While fiction was written in colonial America as early as the 17th century, it was not until a distinct "American" identity developed during the 18th century that what is understood to be "Ameri |
| + | can literature" began. America's identity as a nation was reflected alongside the development of its literature.{{citation needed|date = December 2013}} | ||
| The term "Great American Novel" derives from the title of an essay by [[American Civil War]] novelist [[John William De Forest]]. More broadly, however, the concept originated in [[American nationalism]] and the call for American counterparts to great British authors.{{citation needed|date = December 2013}} | The term "Great American Novel" derives from the title of an essay by [[American Civil War]] novelist [[John William De Forest]]. More broadly, however, the concept originated in [[American nationalism]] and the call for American counterparts to great British authors.{{citation needed|date = December 2013}} | ||
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| *1973: [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''[[Gravity's Rainbow]]'' | *1973: [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''[[Gravity's Rainbow]]'' | ||
| *1975: [[William Gaddis]]'s ''[[J R]]'' | *1975: [[William Gaddis]]'s ''[[J R]]'' | ||
| - | *1985: [[Cormac McCarthy]]'s ''[[Blood Meridian|Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West]]''<ref>http://oyc.yale.edu/english/american-novel-since-1945/content/transcripts/transcript-18-cormac-mccarthy-blood-meridian-cont.</ref> | + | *1985: [[Cormac McCarthy]]'s ''[[Blood Meridian|Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West]]'' |
| - | *1987: [[Toni Morrison]]'s ''[[Beloved (novel)|Beloved]]''<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/ref/books/fiction-25-years.html | work=The New York Times | title=What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years? | date=2006-05-21}}</ref> | + | *1987: [[Toni Morrison]]'s ''[[Beloved (novel)|Beloved]]'' |
| - | *1996: [[David Foster Wallace]]'s ''[[Infinite Jest]]''<ref>http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/1996/02/11/levity-s-rainbow.html</ref><ref>http://www.smallbytes.net/~bobkat/wallace.html</ref> | + | *1996: [[David Foster Wallace]]'s ''[[Infinite Jest]]'' |
| - | *1997: [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''[[Mason & Dixon]]''<ref>{{Cite web | last =Morton | first = Brian | title = Scotland on Sunday | url = http://www.rbooks.co.uk/product.aspx?id=0099771918}} "Pynchon's finest work yet...if anyone is still looking for the Great American Novel then this may well be it."</ref> | + | *1997: [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''[[Mason & Dixon]]'' |
| - | *1997: [[Philip Roth]]'s ''[[American Pastoral]]'' <ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2012/jul/23/great-american-novelist-tournament-final-32 | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Matthew | last=Spencer | title=The Great American Novelist tournament: the final 32 | date=2012-07-23}}</ref> | + | *1997: [[Philip Roth]]'s ''[[American Pastoral]]'' |
| - | *1997: [[Don Delillo]]'s ''[[Underworld (DeLillo novel)|Underworld]]''<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/We-Are-What-We-Waste-Don-DeLillo-s-masterpiece-2827519.php | work=The San Francisco Chronicle | date=1997-09-21}}</ref> | + | *1997: [[Don Delillo]]'s ''[[Underworld (DeLillo novel)|Underworld]]'' |
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 09:26, 26 June 2014
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The "Great American Novel" is the concept of a novel that is distinguished in both craft and theme as being the most accurate representation of the spirit of the age in the United States at the time of its writing or in the time it is set. It is presumed to be written by an American author who is knowledgeable about the state, culture, and perspective of the common American citizen. The author uses the literary work to identify and exhibit the language used by the American people of the time and to capture the unique American experience, especially as it is perceived for the time. In historical terms, it is sometimes equated as being the American response to the national epic.
History
While fiction was written in colonial America as early as the 17th century, it was not until a distinct "American" identity developed during the 18th century that what is understood to be "Ameri can literature" began. America's identity as a nation was reflected alongside the development of its literature.Template:Citation needed
The term "Great American Novel" derives from the title of an essay by American Civil War novelist John William De Forest. More broadly, however, the concept originated in American nationalism and the call for American counterparts to great British authors.Template:Citation needed
In modern usage, the term is often figurative and represents a canonical writing, a literary benchmark emblematic of what defines American literature in a given era. Aspiring writers of all ages, but especially students, are often said to be driven to write "the Great American Novel". Theoretically, such is, presumably, the greatest American book ever written, or which could ever be written. Thus, "Great American Novel" is a metaphor for identity, a Platonic ideal that is not achieved in any specific texts, but whose aim writers strive to mirror in their work.Template:Citation needed
Authors and books referred to as "Great American Novel"
At one time or another, the following works have been considered to be a Great American Novel:
- 19th century
- 1851: Herman Melville's Moby-Dick
- 1884: Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- 20th century
- 1925: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
- 1929: William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury
- 1936: William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!
- 1936: Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind
- 1938: John Dos Passos's U.S.A. trilogy
- 1939: John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath
- 1951: J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the RyeTemplate:Cn
- 1952: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
- 1953: Saul Bellow's The Adventures of Augie March
- 1955: Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita
- 1960: Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
- 1960: John Updike's Rabbit, Run and sequels
- 1973: Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow
- 1975: William Gaddis's J R
- 1985: Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West
- 1987: Toni Morrison's Beloved
- 1996: David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest
- 1997: Thomas Pynchon's Mason & Dixon
- 1997: Philip Roth's American Pastoral
- 1997: Don Delillo's Underworld
See also
