Talk:Great American Novel

Moby Dick

Um... I am not any sort of expert in literature, but I'm wondering if Moby-Dick should be listed in this article as well. It is certainly called a very American novel in its style and subject matter, and it predates Huck Finn. Any thoughts? func(talk) 01:02, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Well, it would fit the title, but I'm not so sure we need more examples right now. Maybe when the article gets longer it could be added in if a reason to use it as an example comes up. As for Huck Finn, I used that because it is the most commonly cited 1st Great American Novel. Moby Dick may have came first, but Huck Finn gets the credit more often. -- [[User:LGagnon|LGagnon]] 02:30, Nov 25, 2004 (UTC)

I'm with Func - when I hear "Great American Novel," I think Moby Dick, not because I agree with that sentiment but because it's an extremely common sentiment. Moby Dick seems to earn that appellation at least as much as Huck Finn. I'm adding it to the article. | Keithlaw 21:14, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Doonesbury?

I think I'd have to see some documentation to believe that Doonesbury is mentioned often enough as a "Great American Novel" to merit its inclusion here, so for now I've pulled the ref. --Dvyost 15:46, 22 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Daniel Holder

I'm not sure whether this guy's opinion should be counted as usable for the sake of this article. I have never heard of him and can't find an entry for him either in Wikipedia or in similar websites. For all I know this could just be some random guy on the internet. Could someone (specifically the person who added him) explain why we should be using his opinion in this article? -- LGagnon 18:05, September 10, 2005 (UTC)

I agree; I just looked and couldn't find his name outside of his own blog. I'm pulling the reference for now, pending someone providing some secondary sources citing him as reshaping people's ideas of "Great American Novel." --Dvyost 21:11, 10 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Just noticed that this editor went on to create an article about this blog; possibly it's vanity, maybe it's just a fan, but it doesn't really seem to belong here. --Dvyost 21:13, 10 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

On the Road

Can whoever just added this in offer a justification for its inclusion? I know this novel has its devotees, but is it commonly discussed as a "Great American Novel" in the way that Grapes or Gatsby is? --Dvyost 16:45, 11 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't add it, but I wouldn't oppose its inclusion. The idea of a "road novel" originated with that book, and it made a number of the top-100 lists that appeared around the turn of the century. | Keithlaw 21:36, 11 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Zeitgeist: the spirit of an age. The definition this post gives of "Great American Novel" is "a novel which represents the spirit of the time". So the Great American Novel is that which embodies the Zeitgeist of the time. On The Road embodies the Zeitgeist of the 1950s, Huckleberry Finn embodies the Zeitgeist of the antebellum 1800s... it's a clear connection. Wikipedia is all about making useful connections between different ideas.