War and the novelist : appraising the American war novel
Abstract
This study, based on a comprehensive examination of a representative cross-section of the literature, attempts a fresh evaluation of the contemporary American War novel. Many of the authors discussed here have done more than simply recast their own wartime experiences. This analysis stresses four dominant themes that issue from the entire body of works: first, the war novel as Bildungsroman (the novel of education); second, developing attitudes toward military commanders; third, relationships of sexuality and the violence of War; and fourth, impressions and explorations of the psychology of combat. The works covered include novels of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, published between 1944 and 1968. To keep the study manageable, I omit novels about prisoners of war and the Cold War.
Table of Contents
The war novel as Bildungsroman -- The literature of command -- Sexuality and violence in the war novel -- The psychology of combat -- At war with technology: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.