The World According to Garp (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: John Irving
- First Published: 1978
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Picaresque
- Time of Work: 1942 through the early 1970’s
- Setting: Boston; Steering, a preparatory school; Vienna; and New York City
- Genres: Long fiction, Picaresque fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Mothers, Parents and children, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Authors or writers, New York City, 1940’s, Prostitution or prostitutes, Violence, Death or dying, Wit or humor, Boston, Nursing or nurses, Coaching or coaches, Private schools, Vienna, Wrestling
- Locales: New York, NY, Boston, MA, Vienna, Austria, Dog’s Head Harbor, NH
Characters Discussed
T. S. Garp, a writer. Because his father dies before he is born, Garp grows up in a world created by his mother. As a result, he spends most of his life trying to create his own identity and never fully achieves one separate from that of his mother. He is educated at a private boys’ school, where his mother is the head nurse. He goes to Europe after graduation and becomes closely involved in the darker side of life in Vienna. He returns home and marries the daughter of his wrestling coach, and while she teaches, he stays home and cares for the children...
[The entire page is 1781 words long]
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