John Updike

A detailed Summary of John Updike

John Hoyer Updike was born March 18, 1932 to Linda Grace Updike and Wesley Russell Updike in Reading, Pennsylvania. Wesley Updike was originally from New Jersey where he worked as a telephone splicer and was laid off from his job during the depression. Wesley Updike met his wife Linda Updike in New Jersey. After Wesley Updike was laid off in New Jersey they moved to Shillington, Pennsylvania where Linda Updike was from. Wesley Updike became a teacher at the local High School. ("Updike,John 413). John Updike started to attend public schools in Shillington in 1936; he continued to attend schools in Shillington until 1950. In 1945 his family moved to an 80-acre farmhouse in Plowville, Pennsylvania eleven miles from Shillington. In 1950 John Updike graduated president and co-valedictorian from Shillington High School. During the summer he worked as a copy boy for the Reading Eagle. As a copy boy, he wrote a few feature stories for the newspaper ("Updike,John 414). That fall he began to attend Harvard and started writing for the Harvard Lampoon a funny magazine where he was later elected the president of the magazine. On June 26, 1953 he married his wife Mary E, Pennington a fine arts major from Radcliffe, she was two years older than

When he moved his family to Ipswhich, Maine he completed a 600-page novel called Home. He completed his first famous novel The Poorhouse Fair and in 1960 that book received a Rosenthal Foundation Award of the National Institute and was a National Book Award Finalist. Later that year he published Rabbit Run funded by Guggenheim Foundation. In 1962 he completed his short story "Pidgeon Feathers" and it was published in America's Best Short Stories book. 1964 he wrote Olinger Stories that were based on his early days in Shillington, Pennsylvania. 1962-1982 he receives honorary doctoral degrees from Urinsus College, Moravian College, Lafeyette College, and Albright College. All these colleges were in Pennsylvania where he grew up. In 1971 he completed Rabbit Redux it is a National Book Award Finalist. In 1981 he finished his 3rd of a 4 set of novels called Rabbit is Rich it recieves many awards. In 1981 His first novel The Carpentered Hen is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for a fiction novel. In 1984 The Witches of Eastwick was written and later made into a movie staring Jack Nicholsen, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer. In 1990 he wrote his last rabbit story called Rabbit at Rest where Rabbit returns to Pennsylvania to talk about his childhood. In 1991 he receives his second Pulitzer Prize for Odd Jobs. He is one of only three authors to

Some common words found in the essay are:
John Updike, John Updike's, Manhattan Yorker, Pennsylvania Updike's, Wesley Updike, Katharine White, Reading Eagle, Award Finalist, Harvard Lampoon, Robert Herrick, john updike, updikejohn 414, wesley updike, national book award, award finalist, called rabbit, linda updike, book award, national book, based life, shillington pennsylvania, book award finalist,

Approximate Word count = 912
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People