The Great American Novel

[Dedalus]

JBFRAME at aol.com wrote:

> It's already been written.  Twice.
> Moby Dick & Huckleberry Finn.

Call me a provincial Fool, call me a closed-minded Nerd with far too
much wine in his system at the moment, even call me Ishmael, but part of
the problem with identifying the Great American Novel is that we, as
Americans, have, do, and always will lack a unified sense of Identity as
a nation.  Even tho we like to think we are free and fair and
melting-potted and all that good stuff, we cannot agree on a unified
sense of Identity BECAUSE we are free and fair and melting-potted and
all that good stuff. Hence, every generation or so from The Deerslayer
thru The Scarlet Letter thru Moby Dick thru Huckleberry Finn thru The
Red Badge of Courage thru The Great Gatsby thru My Antonia thru The
Grapes of Wrath thru Invisible Man thru Cuckoo's Nest thru you name the
novel is a natural product of the national sentiment at the time, yet
for all time, making "The Great American Novel" one of those slippery
and elusive things we'll never see in our lifetime.  All we can ever
truly achieve is "The Favorite American Novel."

Identifying THAT says as much about the identifier as it does about the
book's placement on that Great Cosmic Booklist of Existence.

I cast my vote for _The Grapes of Wrath_ --- it embodies all that being
"an American" means: the hardship, the undying spirit of justice in the
face of beaurocracy, and the sense of "Fuck the System" and "Fuck the
Man" that so many other writers try to explore, but can't, not with that
Steinbeckian aplomb.  Plus, you gotta love salted pork and cooked
rabbit.

Of course, the old saying goes: you cannot analyze humor, because once
you do, it loses its effect.  The same holds true in a way for this
discussion.  Once you identify what you feel is the GAN, you immediately
limit, you reject, you narrow the spectrum, and that does little to
foster the discussion.  Sad, really . . .

Dedalus