Eight major exemplars of the twentieth century American novel, 1900-1959

This dissertation is a study of twentieth-century American novels which can be used in a course by Kenyan and other East African students and teachers. The selected novels can be studied as models for exemplification of the most significant developments and trends in longer American narrative fiction in the period covered by the study. Because of time limits and for purposes of presenting quality fictional works to be covered in one semester, eight novels were analyzed in this study. These are: Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin and Brown Girl, Brownstones by Paule Marshall.; Each of the selected novels represents a component of significance in American literature during the era designated. Sister Carrie's strengths lie in its reflection of American life as affected by industrialization and consequent urbanization. The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises vividly present significant themes of the First World War's ill effects on some Americans and others. Intruder in the Dust examines tensions created by racial discrimination in the Southern United States. The Catcher in the Rye treats the theme of adolescence eloquently. Go Tell It on the Mountain vividly presents Baldwin's view of the damage that racial prejudice inflicts on both blacks and whites. Invisible Man is a powerful presentation of the black experience in the United States. Brown Girl, Brownstones vividly treats a range of subjects such as the crisis of adolescence, religion, poverty and the importance of tradition for the black American.; In addition to those fundamental themes, which provide the focuses in analyzing each of the novels, the dissertation assembles specific types of information that teachers would find essential to furnish their students by way of introduction to and as the basis for study of the novels. Some of this material is for teacher-development, providing instructors kinds of information that would give shape to their teaching of the course. (Abstract shortened with permission of author).