Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

2006

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department / School

English

Abstract

This study addresses how Booth Tarkington, Willa Cather, and F. Scott Fitzgerald use the automobile in The Magnificent Ambersons, One of Ours, and The Great Gatsby, respectively, as a symbol of a rapidly changing world and as a means of illustrating individuals' reactions to cultural change. The study itself stems from the apparent discrepancies that exist between commercial, popular, and literary perceptions of the advent of the automobile during the 1920s. Then, as now, ownership of automobiles did not necessarily reflect a complete and unquestioning acceptance of their consequences. Some historians and sociologists expressed concerns over the emerging car culture and the attitudes and behavior with which that culture was identified. Many writers of the 1920s also viewed this social change as negative. From the dusty roads of the prairie, to the newly paved streets of booming towns, to the multi-laned thoroughfares of bustling cities, writers perceived the impact the automobile was having on American society. As a result, the automobile became a vehicle for symbolizing the changes of a culture that became known as the "Lost Generation." Through a careful study of Tarkington's, Cather's, and Fitzgerald's works about rural, small town, and city life, this use of the automobile as a symbol and characterization tool in the literature of the 1920s is illustrated. These authors' uses of automobiles are remarkably similar. In each novel, a central male character rejects the changing world, as symbolized by the automobile, and creates an illusory, almost quixotic view of himself and the world in which he lives. For these authors, characters who are deluded by their romantic ideals are ultimately destroyed by the harsh reality of inevitable change. This analysis studies literary reactions to the automobile boom of the 1920s from the perspective of authors whose work encompasses rural, small town, and urban societies and cultures and to conclude that while the general population embraced, either willingly or unwillingly, the coming of the automobile age, as evidenced by the staggering sales numbers, many people were wary of this change and its consequences. This wariness, however, did not necessarily translate into a rejection of automobiles. Tarkington, Cather, and Fitzgerald all used automobiles as symbols of change in their novels, but while this change often included negative consequences, the characters who failed to accept change met with disastrous results. This suggests that, like the modem intelligentsia's views about cyber technology and the Internet, these authors recognized many of the possible social dangers connected to an automobile-based society, while at the same time accepted the inevitability of that society.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Automobiles in literature

Social change in literature

American literature -- 20th century -- History and criticism

Tarkington, Booth, 1869-1946 Magnificent Ambersons

Cather, Willa, 1873-1947 One of ours

Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896-1940 Great Gatsby

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

135

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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