Autobiography As Fiction: A Study of Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River

Abstract

Thoma s Wolfe, a n America n novelist of the 1920s a nd 30s, is one of the most misunderstood a nd underestimated writers of his genera tion, His relucta nce to follow the tra ditiona l pa th of the novel or to compete a ga inst any standard but his own has not been taken seriously, Most of Wolfe’s critics have shown an exaggerated concern a bout his life which is revea led in his works. There ha ve been a ttempts to see him in the role of a n a utobiogra pher, a nd often critics ha ve tried to pursue his experiences in the hope of finding their sources. Some critics have recognized him a s a n a rtist, but they do not a cknowledge the significa nce of his experiences. His experiencesa re significa nt,a nd so is his a rt. A brillia nt picture of life emerges in his novels a s we rela te one to the other. His novels a rouse strong rea ctions -both positive a nd nega tive, but they rema in true to life. His ea rlier works Look, Homewa rd Angel, a nd Of Time a nd the River a re more a utobiogra phica l tha n the others. At this sta ge, Wolfe wa s still trying to ha rness his intense emotions while tra nsforming them into a rt. Hence the ma turity we see in the la ter novels is missing in the ea rlier ones. And yet we ca nnot but be surprised by the fla shes of brillia nce in his works tha t not only dema nd a pprecia tion from critics a nd the public but a lso inspireschola rs like me to delve deeper into his works for a better understa nding of his life a nd a rt.