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Maybe he referred to them as "Ashevillians" and they thought he was labeling them villans?
Joking aside, I recently saw a news story about Thomas Wolfe's book, "Look Homeward, Angel" and how it alienated him and his family to some extent from the citizens of Asheville (who apparently did not like how they were portrayed or described)?
But, the news story did not mention what was said that offended people, and I'm having a hard time finding any information about this using my run of the mill web research techniques. Wikipedia and ilk work great for certain topics, but not all.
Can anyone point me to a resource that summarizes negative portrayal of citizens of his home town reasonably well? It's a bit too large of a read for just this one question . While it is on my reading to-do list, there are a few years worth of books ahead of it in line at the moment. This might inspire me to re-prioritize.
"Most of the Asheville people who appear in the novel wear their most unpleasant guises. If there attaches to them any scandal which has has enjoyed only a subterranean circulation, it is dragged forth into the light. If they have any weakness which more tolerant friends are considerate enough to overlook, these defects are faithfully described. In describing them, the author must often convey the impression to the unknowing that these weaknesses were the distinguishing characteristics of the persons.
The novel will be acclaimed to literary critics as a work of real distinction. But the suspicion is strong that Asheville people will read it not because of its literary worth but rather in spite of any artistic merit which it may possess. They will read it because it is the story, told with bitterness and without compassion, of many Asheville people."
Thanks, I had not seen that article and it was interesting to read. In a way, it does address my original request in the sense that it summarizes the negative portrayal, but what I'm looking for (that I see now I explained poorly) is some information that gives an idea (maybe even some quotes/examples) of the specific things he said that caused folks to be angry/annoyed.
For example, did he paint an overall picture of the residents as being backwater or ignorant of the world around them in some way? Or was the problem with specific character traits? The article you referenced hints at the latter, that part of the problem may have been that "fictionalized" and negatively portrayed characters were too easy identifiable with actual well-known citizens of the town.
I'm surprised, with all of the research tools available online, that this information has been so difficult to find, especially for a prominent literary work like this.
suggest you read the book and research book reviews and newspaper reviews from the area.
is this a homework thing? if so you need source data, not CD opinion. if is a personal interest type thing then suggest you take the time to read the book and think about the time and growing up in a small mountain town.
Joking aside, I recently saw a news story about Thomas Wolfe's book, "Look Homeward, Angel" and how it alienated him and his family to some extent from the citizens of Asheville (who apparently did not like how they were portrayed or described)?
Interesting. I started to read Look Homeward, but could not finish it. I was extremely offended by his portrayal of Jewish New Yorkers and use of ethnic insults. I'm sure it would take more work to find the specific material on Asheville characters.
"Among other things, Wolfe depicts, with shocking bluntness, the racism and anti-Semitism of the town’s inhabitants. Moreover, they often come across as hypocritical."
suggest you read the book and research book reviews and newspaper reviews from the area.
I suggest you read my first message regarding this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by theoldnorthstate
is this a homework thing? if so you need source data, not CD opinion.
Not homework and I already mentioned my interest. And my original post was pretty clear to anyone paying attention, I don't need to be told the difference between source data and opinion.
Why do people feel compelled to chime in with lots of alternative suggestions when it's pretty clear they have absolutely nothing to contribute to the thread?
Interesting. I started to read Look Homeward, but could not finish it. I was extremely offended by his portrayal of Jewish New Yorkers and use of ethnic insults. I'm sure it would take more work to find the specific material on Asheville characters.
A lot of people on Amazon express the same lack of desire you did to finish it. This is one reason I'm not putting life on hold to read it just to find a tidbit on characters.
Do you recall if he indicated there were a lot of Jewish New Yorkers living there at the time?
It does indeed seem hard to find individual character summaries. I haven't had much trouble doing this for any book in the past that I can recall.
"Among other things, Wolfe depicts, with shocking bluntness, the racism and anti-Semitism of the town’s inhabitants. Moreover, they often come across as hypocritical."
Good find. I've read some customer reviews of the book as well, and they mention racism / anti-Semitism as well as portrayals of sexual predators, greed, alcoholism, prostitution, theft, etc.
Sounds like he surrounded himself with a nice group of folks back in 1929
I suggest you read my first message regarding this.
Not homework and I already mentioned my interest. And my original post was pretty clear to anyone paying attention, I don't need to be told the difference between source data and opinion.
Why do people feel compelled to chime in with lots of alternative suggestions when it's pretty clear they have absolutely nothing to contribute to the thread?
simple, if people are too lazy to read a book and can think for themselves; then those who know are going to be less likely to spoon feed them.
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. While it is on my reading to-do list, there are a few years worth of books ahead of it in line at the moment. This might inspire me to re-prioritize.
