Manhattan Transfer (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: John Dos Passos
- First Published: 1925
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Impressionistic realism
- Time of Work: World War I
- Setting: New York City
- Genres: Long fiction, Impressionistic literature
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Acting or actors, New York City, Marriage, 1910’s, 1920’s, American Dream, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Immigration or emigration, Adultery, Lawyers, World War I, Business or business people, Reporting or reporters
- Locales: New York, NY
Characters Discussed
Ellen Thatcher, the character who helps keep together the amorphous plot of the novel. She is an actress who lives through chaotic times, America just before and after World War I. She becomes a success as an actress, a failure as a woman. She is married three times, but never to the one man she loves.
Jimmy Herf, an arrival from Europe who comes to New York with his widowed mother; she dies shortly after their arrival. He is unhappy and tries to find himself. He works on a newspaper before the war and does Red Cross work with Ellen in Europe during...
[The entire page is 755 words long]
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