1919

is the second of three volumes in John Dos Passos’

U.S.A.

It was published as a single volume in 1932 and as part of the complete trilogy in 1938. Largely a novel of World War I,

1919

swings on what Michael Denning calls “the irony of apparent victory, of winning the war and losing the peace” (168). Along with a few new characters, figures such as Eveline Hutchins and Joe Williams who appeared in the narratives of Eleanor Stoddard and Janie Williams in

The 42nd Parallel

return with narrative sections devoted to their own wartime experiences. As he does throughout

U.S.A.

, Dos Passos intersperses his “Camera Eye”, “Newsreel”, and biographic sections within these more traditional third person narratives.

The first page of 1919 opens with Newsreel XX, its fragmented war song

2605 words

Citation: Afflerbach, Ian. "1919". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 February 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7245, accessed 19 March 2024.]

7245 1919 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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