Date of Award
1977
Document Type
Senior Scholars Paper (Colby Access Only)
Department
Colby College. English Dept.
Advisor(s)
(unknown)
Abstract
This study examines, in terms of form and content, both the fiction of Saul Bellow and the New Nonfiction, the most popular form of New Journalism, of four writers: Nonnan Mailer, Truman Capote, Gay Talese, and Tom Wolfe. Both approaches are examined in some depth with the intent of discerning their general distinguishing features. BeLlov, following the fono of the novel, gives great credence to social realism, wbile he retains the novelist's power to create a self-contained vision of the world. The writers of New Nonfiction also use the forms of fiction, but rather thaD creating a vision of the world, they attempt through careful reporting and social scientific analysis to clarify and interpret the contemporary American scene. In other words, their whole approach to literature is based upon the direct significance of social realism~ In spite of their formal differences, however, Bellow and the writers of New Nonfiction share a belief in the importance of social realism for literature. It is this belief which establishes the validity of both approaches as interpretations of the contemporary American scene.
Keywords
American lit
Recommended Citation
Fox, Kenneth, "Saul Bellow and New Nonfiction: A Comparative Approach To Contemporary American Literature" (1977). Senior Scholar Papers. Paper 412.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/seniorscholars/412
Copyright
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Comments
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