The Modern American Novel: An Introduction
This lecture surveys the historical and cultural contexts of six important modern American novels: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925); William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying (1930); Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (1957); Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony (1977); Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987) and Philip Roth’s American Pastoral (1997). We will think about whether there is anything distinctive, or exceptional, about American literature as a whole.
This lecture is the first of Roynon’s three-lecture American Literature series. It also includes a downloadable handout.
Document
Date Published:
5 June 2020
Writer:
Contributors:
Tessa Roynon
In Collection(s):
William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, Leslie Marmon Silko, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth
Keywords:
American literature
Cite:
The Modern American Novel: An Introduction by William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, Leslie Marmon Silko, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth via https://dev.writersinspire.it.ox.ac.uk/content/modern-american-novel-introduction. Published on 05 June 2020. Accessed on 11 May 2026.
If reusing this resource please attribute as follows: The Modern American Novel: An Introduction by William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac, Leslie Marmon Silko, Toni Morrison, Philip Roth, licensed as Creative Commons BY-NC-SA (2.0 UK).
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