Jack Kerouac, Pic

R. J. Ellis (University of Birmingham)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1971

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Pic, Pictorial Review Jackson, a ten-year-old African-American, narrates his story, beginning in North Carolina, after his mother dies and his brother leaves home. Orphaned, Pic is left with his paternal grandfather. When his grandfather also dies, Pic is taken in by his Aunt Gastonia. There is some resistance to this, partly from her husband, Uncle Sim, but mostly from Pic’s maternal grandfather, Grandpa Jelkey. In the past, Pic’s father has blinded Grandpa Jelkey. The latter therefore lays a curse on Pic. Terrified, the boy falls ill. Fortunately, his brother, Slim, unexpectedly returns, and after some argument, sneaks back at night to whisk Pic off to New York. The bus ride is carefully described, as is a brief period in New York, where Slim lives with a woman called Sheila, who…

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486 words

Citation: Ellis, R. J.. "Pic". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 April 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2796, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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