Sometimes a Great Notion (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Ken Kesey
- First Published: 1964
- Type of Plot: Realism
- Time of Work: 1961
- Setting: Southwest Oregon coast
- Principal Characters: Hank Stamper, Leland “Lee” Stanford Stamper, Vivian “Viv” Stamper, Henry Stamper, Joe Ben Stamper, Jonathan Draeger, Floyd Evenwrite
- Genres: Long fiction, Realism
- Subjects: 1960’s, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Nature, West, U.S., Accidents, Pacific Northwest, Trees, Unions or unionism, Strikes or lockouts
- Locales: Oregon
The Novel
The events of Sometimes a Great Notion revolve around a logging strike which pits the Stamper family against the local union and, thus, against the members of the small coastal community in which the family lives. Through Kesey’s dazzling manipulation of point of view, the characters of the community are portrayed in relationship to Hank Stamper, who is the leader of the clanlike family, and who functions as the traditional hero in classical terms. The strike dramatizes a fundamental clash of values: the fierce individualism inherent in this wildcat logging...
[The entire page is 2362 words long]
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