The U.S.A. trilogy

a portrait of a nation: John Dos Passos' redefinition of American literary tradition through visual art

Abstract

The work of John Dos Passos is often overlooked in the American literary canon. The reason for this may lie in the fact that his work, interdisciplinary in nature, is inherently averse to definition. Whereas some critics have identified the influence of the visual arts on the author, none have dealt specifically with the impact of artists such as Pablo Picasso and George Braque on his methods of narrative construction and characterisation. Further, none have adequately expressed the gravity with which Dos Passos transformed the novel form. This article addresses the author's literary transcription of analytic cubism with particular view to his U.S.A. trilogy. The competing planes, sharp angles and bold juxtapositions of cubism, are identifiable in Dos Passos' work, and are employed by the author as a method of redefining an American literary tradition. The author explores identity both on an individual, national, and literary scale in an era of social, political and economic upheaval as he offers up a new model for the great American novel.