Open AccessWar, Homecoming and Genre: John Mulgan's 'Man Alone' and Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road'
Author(s) -
Erin Mercer
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of new zealand studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.102
0eISSN - 2324-3740
pISSN - 1176-306X
DOI - 10.26686/jnzs.v0i13.1192
Subject(s) - homecoming , counterculture , narrative , context (archaeology) , history , style (visual arts) , first world war , tone (literature) , cold war , art history , art , sociology , literature , political science , politics , law , ancient history , archaeology
At first glance there appears to be little similarity between John Mulgan's Man Alone (1939) and Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957). One is a New Zealand realist novel that appeared just on the outbreak of World War Two, the other an American conffessional text that articulates the emergence of a post-World War Two counterculture. Nevertheless, despite obvious differences in context, style and tone, both novels share a thematic concern with the reintegration of veterans to civilian life. Both narratives focus on a male protagonist recently returned from global conflict who expresses unease regarding their environment and an inability to be at home within it.