When the French philosopher, critic and writer Jean-Paul Sartre concluded an essay on the American novelist John Dos Passos in 1938 with the words “I regard Dos Passos as the greatest writer of our time” it was quite clear that the author of the trilogy U.S.A. had joined the class of the most important and influential writers in American literature. The three novels of the trilogy are critical documents and portraits of the history and life of the American nation during the first three decades of the 20 th century. U.S.A. is a social and political work that is shaped by the stylistic experimentation of the author who treats art in the service of history 1 and therefore leaves him in a literary outstanding position. This term paper aims to explain and justify this position of Dos Passos by examining and analyzing The Big Money which was the final novel of U.S.A. First of all, this work will give an overview and assessment of the trilogy as a whole to facilitate an analytical insight into its meaning and purpose. Secondly, the four different styles of narration will be discussed. The third part of the paper will deal with The Big Money: What is the historical context of the novel? Who are the main characters? Finally, the themes of the novel will be shortly summarized in the fourth part of this paper. [...]
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- U.S.A.
- Modes of Narration
- Fictional Characters
- Biographies
- Newsreels
- The Camera Eye
- The Big Money
- Historical Context
- Fictional Characters
- Charley Anderson
- Margo Dowling
- Mary French
- Richard Ellsworth Savage
- Themes
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
Objectives and Key Themes
This term paper aims to analyze John Dos Passos's The Big Money, the final novel in his U.S.A. trilogy, to understand its significance within American literature and the historical context of the 1920s. It examines the trilogy's unique narrative structure, exploring the different modes of narration, and analyzes the historical context of The Big Money, focusing on the main characters and their role in the story.
- The impact of the Roaring Twenties and the subsequent Great Depression on American society and culture.
- The critique of capitalism and its effects on individuals and social structures.
- The complexities of individual destinies in the context of a rapidly changing society.
- The use of experimental narrative techniques to portray the collective experience of America.
- The portrayal of the "march of history" through the interweaving of various literary genres.
Chapter Summaries
The introduction provides an overview of Dos Passos's position as a significant figure in American literature, highlighting the critical acclaim garnered by his U.S.A. trilogy. It sets the stage for a detailed analysis of The Big Money, focusing on the trilogy's purpose and its unique narrative structure.
The second chapter delves into the context of the U.S.A. trilogy, discussing the historical and social backdrop of the 1920s and 1930s. It highlights the shift in perception of the Roaring Twenties, from a period of exuberance to a time marked by disillusionment and the rise of radicalism. This chapter explores the trilogy's overarching message of critique and its portrayal of the American nation's social and moral evolution.
The third chapter explores the distinct narrative styles employed in the U.S.A. trilogy, examining the roles of fictional characters, biographies, newsreels, and the "Camera Eye" in constructing the narrative. This section provides an in-depth understanding of Dos Passos's innovative approach to storytelling.
Keywords
This preview focuses on John Dos Passos's U.S.A. trilogy, specifically The Big Money. The key concepts and terms include the historical context of the 1920s, the impact of the Great Depression, the critique of capitalism, the exploration of individual destinies, the use of experimental narrative techniques, and the portrayal of the "march of history".
- Quote paper
- Julia Schubert (Author), 2005, John Dos Passos´s "The Big Money": Critical Perceptions of the United States during the 1920s , Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/56775
