Wolfe seeks to capture a quintessentially American experience and symbolize American youth in his novel. While he is often associated with expatriate American writers such as Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and he took several lengthy trips to Europe during the writing of Look Homeward, Angel, Wolfe identified himself as being deeply rooted in the American literary tradition. He would not have labeled his works as "modernist" in the global sense. Instead, he is more accurately described as an American romantic.

This does not imply that Wolfe's debut novel lacks creativity or daring; in fact, only Charles Scribner's Sons, a publisher renowned for its avant-garde modernist literature, agreed to publish it. Although Wolfe aligned himself with American traditions and drew comparisons to authors like Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau, he aimed to craft a novel form of American romanticism within a modern setting.

Much of Look Homeward, Angel is explicitly sexual and revolves around the concept of breaking away from the past to gain a deeper understanding of the world's truths. These themes are often associated with modernism. However, the yearning to return home and the vivid depiction of the traditional South are classic romantic motifs. Additionally, some of the long, seemingly disjointed passages about life in Altamont incorporate naturalistic elements. Wolfe and his contemporaries would have seen him as using aspects of the new style to develop a traditional American form.

Critics, including Richard S. Kennedy, often use the German term "novel of development" to describe the structure of Look Homeward, Angel. The opposing forces of adventurous departure and conservative return are personified by Gant and Eliza, representing the northern man and the southern woman. These dynamics underscore Eugene's journey of personal growth. The theme of development is pivotal not only to Eugene's character but also serves as a metaphor for the "American experience" previously discussed. Wolfe examines America's evolution in the early twentieth century, particularly focusing on the South's progress.

Born in 1900, Eugene symbolically represents the South's early stage in a new century. Wolfe devotes considerable attention to traditional southern values, such as racial superiority, Confederate patriotism, and landownership. Throughout the novel, these values transform through Eugene's eyes, shaped by significant political events like World War I. Following Ben's death, Eugene understands the necessity of leaving, albeit with some lingering fondness, and heading north. Wolfe seems determined to portray the South's path toward modernization, while still retaining certain traditions, through detailed passages on the evolving southern lifestyle. Ultimately, a separation becomes inevitable as the gap widens, and Eugene can no longer idealize his roots.

Although Eugene must leave his home to mature into adulthood, Wolfe does not imply that abandoning southern values is the only route to successful growth. The concept of development in the novel also includes appreciating and even longing for the past. While Eugene appears to have reached a level of maturity as he prepares to move North, he remains deeply connected to the romantic tradition of the southern experience and the "look homeward" mentioned in the title.

Both Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River revolve around the central theme of Eugene Gant's quest "to stand alone and apart," yet they delve into numerous other themes as well. Although Wolfe highlights loneliness as a core element of human life, he also dedicates significant attention to depicting the complex networks of family bonds, friendships, and student-teacher relationships. These themes lead him to explore the troubled marriage between W. O. and Eliza Gant, the distinctive traits and shortcomings of Eugene's siblings, Eliza's connections with her mountain relatives, the supportive mentorship of Francis Starwick at Harvard,...