The Centaur (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: John Updike
- First Published: 1963
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Magical Realism
- Time of Work: Monday morning to Thursday morning of the second week of January, 1947
- Setting: Olinger, Pennsylvania, and its environs
- Genres: Long fiction, Mythological literature, Magical Realism
- Subjects: Teaching or teachers, Family or family life, United States or Americans, Adolescence, 1940’s, High schools or high school students, Sacrifice
- Locales: Pennsylvania
Characters Discussed
George Caldwell, a general science teacher at Olinger High School and, at the mythic level, the centaur Chiron who is the teacher of the gods. Fifty years old and in physical pain, Caldwell is fearful about death and uncertain about the value of his own teaching. Despite his doubt and self-deprecation, Caldwell shows a deep sensitivity to the needs and fears of others. During the three days depicted in the novel, he and his son, Peter, are forced by car trouble and a snowstorm to spend two nights together away from home. They encounter a world that is...
[The entire page is 1259 words long]
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