The Gentleman from Indiana | Themes
A reader of The Gentleman from Indiana is constantly reminded that Indiana and its people are examples of what is finest in rural America. Tarkington was presenting his home state as fully worthy of the pride its citizens felt. He anticipates the boosterism that later novelists like Sinclair Lewis would satirize.
As a romance the novel shows that good, as represented by the hero, John Harkless, will be triumphant against all odds. Tarkington in time would look back on his romantic period and its writings with some condescension. As a lifelong optimist, however, he never lost his...
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