John Dos Passos: The Individual's Relationship with His Milieu in Three Novels by John Dos Passos

Abstract

<p>The following study deals with the individual's relationship with his social, historical and institutional milieu in three novels by John Dos Passos, Manhattan Transfer (1925), U.S.A. (1930-36), and Midcentury (1960). In chapter I, the introduction to this study, I have presented a brief biographical sketch on the author as well as an examination of Dos Passos' choice of an artistic form. Dos Passos' conception of art and the function of the artist as well as Dos Passos' place in the evolution of naturalistic literature have been discussed.</p> <p>The second chapter of this study focuses on the individual in conflict with an urban environment. The effects of this setting upon the individual's psyche forms the crux of my investigation. In chapter III, I have examined Dos Passos' U.S.A trilogy. The individual's relationship with his historical milieu and Dos Passos' essentially Marxist interpretation of history are used as the basis of my analysis. Chapter IV deals with Midcentury. The discussion in this chapter is founded upon the individual's conflict with social institutions, especially American labor organizations. In chapters two, three and four, Dos Passos' anti-deterministic philosophy and his concern with the individual is accentuated. Dos Passos' belief that personal integrity and social responsibility and conscientiousness are the mainstays of the survival of both individual and national liberty is established as the focal point of discussion. The "vag", who embodies this idea, is used as the linking motif between the three studies.</p> <p>Chapter V, the conclusion, discusses Dos Passos' role as both a writer and citizen. Here the instructive and artistic qualities of the three novels examined in this study have been evaluated.</p>