Great American Novel

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This article is about The Great American Novel (as a concept). For other uses, see Great American Novel (disambiguation).

The "Great American Novel" is the concept of a novel that perfectly represents the spirit of life in the United States at the time of its publication. 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 phrase derives from the title of an essay by American Civil War novelist John William DeForest, published in The Nation on January 9, 1869. More broadly, however, it has its origins in American nationalism and the call for American counterparts to the "Great English Writers." It is an ideological call for American cultural distinctness, and identity.

In modern usage, the term is often figurative and represents a Holy Grail of writing, an ideal to which all American authors strive, and is a source of inspiration. It is, presumably, the greatest American book ever written, or which could ever be written. It may be unreachable due to the nature of American culture, the diversity of which is impossible to encapsulate. 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.

An alternate usage is in reference to actual novels. Although the title is not a formal award, it is considered to be a prestigious title for a novel, and is thus seen as a worthwhile goal for writers to attempt to achieve.

Though the term is singular, many novels have been given this title over time. In fact, few will claim there is one single Great American Novel. Two of the earliest contenders for this title are Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Several 20th century works have also emerged as worthwhile subjects for this discussion, including such highly respected novels such as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Even such controversial novels as J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, and Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club have sometimes also been called the "Great American Novel" by critics or scholars. The popular television show The Simpsons even went so far as to say Jurassic Park is the Great American Novel. In the popular daily comic strip Pearls before Swine, the character Rat strived to write the Great American Novel by beginning the story with the line "The sea was filled with angry monkeys."

When referring to first-time writers, many people state that their ultimate goal is to write "the Great American Novel," illustrating the somewhat idealistic nature of the phrase.

[edit] References

• Brown, Herbert R. "The Great American Novel." American Literature 7.1 (1935): 1-14.
• Knox, George. "The Great American Novel: Final Chapter." American Quarterly 21.4 (1969): 667-682.