Jack Kerouac, The Town and the City

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 1950

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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The Town and the City

traces the fortunes of the Martin family from 1935 to 1946, a period spanning the thirties depression, World War Two and its immediate aftermath. The Martin family is large: the father and mother (George and Marguerite) have eight children. In 1935 the eldest, Rose, is 21, Ruth is 18, Joe 17, Francis 15 (his twin, Julian, died when still “little”), Peter 13, Elizabeth 12, Charley 9 and Mickey 6. By the end of the novel these children are slightly over ten years older, except Charley (killed in Okinawa during World War Two), and are gathered together to bury George. The novel’s focus falls on just three of the children, Joe, Francis, and especially Peter. The fortunes of the mother and father are also given in some detail (for Kerouac, George was the…

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1222 words

Citation: Ellis, R. J.. "The Town and the City". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 April 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7955, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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