Great American Novel

The term Great American Novel (GAN) refers to a canonical novel that is thought to capture the spirit of American life. It is generally regarded as being written by an American and dealing in some way with the question of America's national character. The Great American Novel is considered America's equivalent of the national epic.

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

Moby Dick is commonly cited as the Great American Novel.

The term was coined by John William De Forest in 1868, and shortened to GAN by Henry James in 1880, but has since evolved in meaning. In modern usage, the meaning of the term is often figurative and represents a canonical piece of literature, making it a literary benchmark emblematic of what defines U.S. literature in a given era. There is no consensus on which novel deserves to be called the Great American Novel. Practically, many academics use the term to refer to a small number of books that have historically been the nexus of discussion, including Moby-Dick, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby.

History
John William De Forest coined the term in 1868.
Further information: American literature

While fiction was written in colonial North America as early as the 17th century, it was not until a distinct U.S. identity developed in the 18th century that works considered American literature first appeared. The U.S. identity as a nation was reflected alongside the development of its literature.[1]

The term Great American Novel comes directly from the title of an 1868 essay[2] by American Civil War novelist John William De Forest. In the wake of the Civil War, Forest claimed that "the Great American Poem" could only be created after the United States had experienced hundreds of years of democracy, however, he believed that the Great American Novel could be written much sooner.[3] As he wrote:

But the Great American Novel—the picture of the ordinary emotions and manners of American existence—the American "Newcomes" or "Miserables" will, we suppose, be possible earlier. "Is it time?" the benighted people in the earthen jars or commonplace life are asking. And with no intention of being disagreeable, but rather with sympathetic sorrow, we answer, "Wait." At least we fear that such ought to be our answer. This task of painting the American soul within the framework of a novel has seldom been attempted, and has never been accomplished further than very partially—in the production of a few outlines.[4]

He claimed that it would serve as "a tableau of American society."[5] De Forest criticized James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans (1826) and noted that it did not deserve to be called the Great American Novel. He expressed his admiration for the works of Washington Irving and Nathanial Hawthorne, but also claimed that they were not fit to be given the title.[6] The only novel that De Forest noted as a possible contender was Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), which he described as "a picture of American life."[5]

In 1880, writer Henry James simplified the term with the initialism "GAN".[7] According to writer Martin Amis, immigrants, or "non-Americans", were critical in the evolution of the GAN. He points to the fact that many GAN authors were foreign born or of an immigrant background.[8] There are several different interpretations of what makes a GAN. Some say that it depicts a diverse group facing issues representative of "epochdefining public events or crises." This would include Moby Dick and Gravity's Rainbow.[9]

Although early Great American Novel candidates were typically chosen by academics and scholars, the concept has opened up in recent years. Lawrence Buell, Professor of American Literature Emeritus at Harvard University, said that in the 21st century "the dream of the GAN is less in the hands of credentialed critics and scholars to determine than the result of a complex, messy interaction among them, readers at large, the literary entrepreneurialism of the writers themselves, the publishing and education industries, and self-accredited freelance journalists and bloggers."[10] Some have even suggested that the Marvel Comics by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee deserve the title.[5]

Notable candidates
Publication year Cover Novel Portrait Author Reasoning Ref.
1826 The Last of the Mohicans James Fenimore Cooper The Last of the Mohicans is commonly considered the first GAN. It was influential in defining American literature. [11][12]
1850 The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Although De Forest specifically labelled The Scarlet Letter as not being worthy of the label of GAN, it is now widely included on most lists.[13] [14][15]
1851 Moby-Dick Herman Melville Moby Dick has been called the "the grandfather of all GANs."[16] The novel is also the "official epic novel" of Massachusetts.[17][18] [19][20]
1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe [21][22]
1884 Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was one of the first American novels to utilize a regional vernacular.[23] In 1935, Ernest Hemingway stated that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called 'Huckleberry Finn'."[24] [25][26]
1925 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald [27][28]
1936 Absalom, Absalom! William Faulkner [29][30]
1939 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck [31][32]
1951 The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger [33][34]
1952 Invisible Man Ralph Ellison The Invisible Man is considered the GAN due to its subject of racial issues in the United States. [35][36]
1960 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee [37][38]
1973 Gravity's Rainbow Thomas Pynchon [39][40]
1985 Blood Meridian Cormac McCarthy The novel is noted for its portrayal of the consequences of manifest destiny for which it is labelled an anti-western. [41][42]

See also

References
  1. Baym, Nina, ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. Print.
  2. DeForest, John (January 9, 1868), "The Great American Novel", The Nation, New York, retrieved October 11, 2010
  3. https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/end-of-the-dream-can-the-great-american-novel-survive
  4. DeForest, John (January 9, 1868), "The Great American Novel", The Nation, New York, retrieved October 11, 2010
  5. Zafarris, Jess (July 4, 2018). "The First Book to Ever Be Dubbed the "Great American Novel" Might Not Be the One You'd Guess". Writer's Digest. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  6. https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/the-first-great-american-novel
  7. Showalter, Elaine (February 20, 2014). "Can the Great American Novel survive?". Prospect. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  8. Scholes, Lucy (October 21, 2014). "Can a 'Great American Novel' be written in French?". American Heritage Publishing. Retrieved April 20, 2020. For at the very same time there is a list of widely accepted GANs – from... Gone With the Wind
  9. Elaine Showalter (February 20, 2014). "Can the Great American Novel survive?". Prospect.
  10. Buell, Lawrence (2014). The Dream of the Great American Novel. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780674726321. OCLC 871257583.
  11. Italie, Hillel. "'Last of the Mohicans' was first great American novel". Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  12. Lewis, Randy (October 3, 1992). "Writer's Wit Found Target in 'Mohicans'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  13. Konnikova, Maria (June 29, 2012). "The Great American Novel". Slate. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  14. Buell, Lawrence. "The Dream of the Great American Novel". Retrieved October 14, 2015. There are, Buell says, four main types of potential Great American Novels. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter epitomises the first – a cultural 'master narrative', identified as such by the number of reinterpretations and imitations that follow in its wake.
  15. Latson, Jennifer (March 16, 2015). "Why The Scarlet Letter Was a Mixed Blessing for Its Author". Time. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  16. https://harvardmagazine.com/2014/01/made-in-the-u-s-a
  17. Kinzer, Stephen (December 8, 2008). "Call me Bush". The Guardian. London. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  18. https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/moby-dick-soon-to-be-states-official-epic-novel,34686
  19. Buell, Lawrence. "The Unkillable Dream of the Great American Novel: Moby-Dick as Test Case". American Literary History. 20 (1–2): 132–155. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  20. Hubert Dreyfus - Melville's Moby Dick, retrieved November 4, 2019
  21. Fuller, Randall. "The First Great American Novel". Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  22. Fuller, Randall (May 2013). "The First Great American Novel". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  23. Smith, Henry Nash; Finn, Huckleberry (1984). "The Publication of "Huckleberry Finn": A Centennial Retrospect". Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 37 (5): 18–40. JSTOR 3823856.
  24. Ulin, David L. (November 14, 2010). "Celebrating the genius of 'Huckleberry Finn'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  25. Brown, Robert B. (June–July 1984). "One Hundred Years of Huck Finn". American Heritage Publishing. Retrieved December 10, 2011. It was called the 'great American novel' as early as 1891 by the English writer Andrew Lang ...
  26. Mailer, Norman (December 9, 1985). "Huckleberry Finn, Alive at 100". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  27. Emory Elliott et al. (eds.) (1991). The Columbia History of the American Novel. Columbia University Press. p. 323. "The Great Gatsby (1925), a work still frequently nominated as 'the great American novel' ..."
  28. Achenbach, Joel (March 20, 2015). "Why 'The Great Gatsby' is the Great American Novel". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  29. Hirsch, Arthur (November 16, 1997). "The real great American Novel: 'Absalom, Absalom!' Faulkner: His ninth novel, for its span, its revelation, its American essence, stands above all others in reaching for this literary absolute". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  30. https://harvardmagazine.com/2014/01/made-in-the-u-s-a
  31. Dana, Gioia. "The Grapes of Wrath Radio Show (interview with Richard Rodriguez) – Transcript". The Big Read. The National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved September 22, 2010. There hasn't been anything like this novel since it was written. And this is the great American novel that everyone keeps waiting for but it has been written now.
  32. Nixon, Rob. "The Grapes of Wrath". This Month Spotlight. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved September 22, 2010. Nixon quotes John Springer, author of The Fondas (Citadel, 1973), a book about Henry Fonda and his role in film version of The Grapes of Wrath: "The Great American Novel made one of the few enduring Great American Motion Pictures."
  33. McGrath, Charles (January 28, 2010). "J. D. Salinger, Literary Recluse, Dies at 91". New York Times.
  34. Burke, Declan (July 13, 2011). "Sixty years and 65m copies on: Holden Caulfield and the great American novel". The Irish Times. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  35. Giles, Patrick (September 15, 2002). "The Great American Novel". Los Angeles Times.
  36. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/book-of-a-lifetime-by-paul-gambaccini-invisible-man-by-ralph-ellison-a6684356.html
  37. Puente, Maria (July 8, 2010). "'To Kill a Mockingbird': Endearing, enduring at 50 years". USA Today. It is Lee's only book and one of the handful that could earn the title of Great American Novel. (Lee has since published a sequel, Go Set a Watchman.)
  38. Scalzi, John (June 30, 2016). "The Great American Novel is 'To Kill a Mockingbird'". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  39. Elaine Showalter (February 20, 2014). "Can the Great American Novel survive?". Prospect.
  40. Kipen, David (June 30, 2016). "David Kipen's Great American Novel". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  41. Dalrymple, William. "Blood Meridian is the Great American Novel". Reader's Digest. McCarthy’s descriptive powers make him the best prose stylist working today, and this book the Great American Novel.
  42. Vann, David (November 13, 2009). "American inferno". The Guardian. Retrieved May 14, 2020. A great American novel can only be anti-American, and Blood Meridian, like Toni Morrison's Beloved, focuses on our greatest shames

Further reading
  • Buell, Lawrence. "American literature's holy grail: The hunt for the Great American Novel". Salon. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  • Buell, Lawrence. (2014). The Dream of the Great American Novel. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674051157
  • 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.

De Forest's essay on the Great American Novel

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