A Close Reading Of Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel In The Light Of Existentialism

Thomas Wolfe is one of the most important novelists of the 20^th century in American history. He takes rank with Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and William Faulkner. Though his life is very short, yet his literary achievements are very large.Look Homeward, Angel is Wolfe's first novel, and also his most famous one. Once the novel was published, it began to receive great critical acclaim. The success of the novel brought Wolfe great fame and enabled him to abandon his teaching post forever. The novel is in nature autobiographical. The protagonist Eugene Gant is the surrogate of Wolfe and the prototypes of many characters can be found in Wolfe's life.The novel covers the years from Eugene Gant's birth till his departure from his hometown to enter Harvard University. It mainly deals with the development of Eugene's inner life. Wolfe's works primarily focus on such human feelings as loneliness and alienation, and their search for the meaning of life as well as their struggles against the bondage of their family to open up new horizons for themselves. What interested Wolfe corresponds with the concerns of the existentialists. They are interested in the existence of human beings, their subjectivity as well as their freedom and choices, and this paper probes the novel from the angle of existentialism.The essay consists of five parts.The first part includes an introduction to Wolfe and a literature review of Look Homeward, Angel. It discusses praise as well as blame the novel received from critics. The novel is considered to be a great Bildungsroman. Some critics regard it as a novel with some humorous elements in it. Others insist that the theme of the novel is a son's searching for his father. This part ends with a summary of the novel.The second part concentrates on man's loneliness and alienation. Gant and Eliza are discussed for, according to some critics, they are the loneliest characters in the novel. Gant's loneliness and alienation come from the indifference with which the people treat him and his poor health. The differences and conflicts between Gant and Eliza and the great terror caused by his disease affect Gant greatly. In the family, there is no one who understands Eliza as to her resolution to draw wealth. Eugene's living conditions and his relationship with others account for his loneliness. There is no mutual understanding between him and other people because he seldom communicates with them and there are some questions that he does not understand. Steve, Helen, and Luke are discussed one by one.The third part deals with man's freedom and choice. Eugene pursues freedom and he has his choices: his first imitating of the cow's moo, his setting foot into an alley of a rich family, his going to school at the age of five, his obsession with books, his appreciation of his father's work, his searching for Laura in Virginia and his departure from his hometown to enter Harvard University. All Eugene's choices are based on his dream to become an artist. During Eliza's life, three choices she has made exert a great influence on her family.The fourth part centers on the absurdity of Ben and Gant. Ben tries to find the meaning of life through his success as a businessman. But he fails. When the First World War breaks out, he is sure he can find the meaning of his life on the frontier but his delicate health does not allow him to. At last, Ben confronts the biggest absurdity -death. Gant faces the absurdity of his life from the very beginning till the end of the novel.The fifth part is a conclusion of the essay. In this part, the existentialist elements in the novel are summarized. It also analyzes why Wolfe is concerned with human beings' existence.