Look homeward angel thomas wolfe summary
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1, Chapter 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary
Look Homeward, Angel begins with a contemplation on the universality of human life. Wolfe reflects on the connections between human lives separated by distance and time when he states, “every moment fryst vatten a öppning on all time” (5). Wolfe begins his tale of the Gant family’s arrival in America with the simple line, “This is a moment” (5).
The Gant family’s American roots took hold after the 1837 immigration of Englishman Gilbert Gaunt, who changed the family surname to the more phonetically American “Gant.” On his new American adventures, Gilbert made an unsuccessful living through illegal cock-fighting until finally settling among the Dutch in the Pennsylvanian countryside, where he married a young widow and charmed the other Dutch settlers, who proclaimed that “he should have been an actor” (5).
Gilbert bore fem children, and “his bright somewhat staring
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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Summary and Study Guide
Overview
Thomas Wolfe’s largely autobiographical novel Look Homeward, Angel was published in 1929. A coming-of-age story divided into three parts, Wolfe’s novel chronicles the life of the Gant family and, particularly, the growth of Eugene Gant, a character whom critics consider an extension of Wolfe. Wolfe, like Eugene, was born in the year 1900. The lives of Eugene’s parents mirror the lives of Wolfe’s own parents, who were also named William Oliver and Eliza. Look Homeward, Angel is set in the fictional town of Altamont as inspired by Wolfe’s hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.
Often compared to William Faulkner and James Joyce, Wolfe is known for his sprawling writing style and lengthy descriptions. He is one of North Carolina’s most renowned writers. Written from a third-person omniscientperspective, Look Homeward, Angel is a stream-of-consciousness narrative that focuses on the first two decades
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Review: ‘Look Homeward, Angel’ by Thomas Wolfe
There is no arguing that "Look Homeward, Angel" by Thomas Wolfe is considered a great American novel, but I don’t think I’m going to finish it. Six weeks of trying and I made it just halfway through. (A quick look at online book reviews shows there are lots of other readers who gave up on it too).
Thomas Wolfe, born in Asheville, N.C., writes what is described as an autobiographical coming of age novel of a family and a town. The family is his, the town is Asheville.
I took a trip to Asheville recently and saw monuments to Wolfe, so I decided to read his book.
There is no plot. Wolfe describes the arrival of Oliver Gant to town, where he meets Eliza, a young woman selling books. They marry and have six children. Gant is a carver of tombstones and marbles and an alcoholic. Eliza wants to invest in property, but Oliver doesn’t want to be bothered with the upkeep and he doesn’t want to pay taxes.
As Oliver stumbles through his drink