Combining literary analysis with historical research, Thomas Gustafson examines how Philip Roth's acclaimed 1997 novel American Pastoral draws upon the history of Brookside, New Jersey as its model for the fictional hamlet of Old Rimrock. American Anti-Pastoral peels back myths about the bucolic Garden State countryside to reveal deep fissures within the heart of American democracy.
Politics, Literature, and the American Language, 1776 1865
The book explores the evolution of American writing that links political turmoil with linguistic corruption from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. Thomas Gustafson delves into the motivations behind this literary tradition, highlighting how historical events influenced the perception of language and its integrity in the face of political challenges. Through this examination, the work sheds light on the broader implications of language in shaping political discourse during a transformative period in American history.