The Great American Novel (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Philip Roth
- First Published: 1973
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social satire
- Time of Work: 1943-1944, with flashbacks to the early twentieth century and prologue and epilogue set in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s
- Setting: The eastern and midwestern United States
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Communism or communists, Literature, 1940’s, Wit or humor, Baseball
- Locales: East (U.S.), Midwest (U.S.)
Characters Discussed
Word Smith (Smitty), the novel’s narrator, a longtime sportswriter currently residing at the Valhalla nursing home. Smitty’s prologue establishes his credentials as a writer (noting, in particular, his love of alliteration) and as a witness to the events, recounted in the main body of the book, that led to the demise of the Patriot Baseball League, the memory of which has been wiped clean from American history. Smitty appears later in the book in his role as a sportswriter and commentator, and as a defiant witness before Congress’ House Committee on...
[The entire page is 1479 words long]
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