Havard

A detailed Summary of Havard

“You must escape, or you will die…you must find the place…you must hunt for yourself…you must find me” (Wolfe 482). Eugene Gant…a young man filled with high hopes and much desire. Certain forces throughout Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel begin to push Eugene out into the world where he can truly find himself. These same forces make Eugene realize his own abilities, needs, and wants. As the novel progresses, Eugene becomes surrounded by symbols for him to seize the day and release all his pain and emotion. In his novel, Look Homeward, Angel, Thomas Wolfe tries to show how family, small-town life, and the worlds of high school and college affect the passions of a young man.

Wolfe demonstrates how family life adds coal to the burning passions within Eugene. Throughout the novel, he describes how Eugene’s tumultuous, neglectful, and disturbing home and family life work on the emotions of Eugene. For example, the lack of attention placed onto Eugene starts at a very young age. Not only is Eugene part of a large family, but his father, Oliver, “slept when the great pangs of birth began in Eliza at two o’clock and slept through all the patient pain and care of do

Wolfe further demonstrates how the development of Eugene’s passion is a byproduct of his growing up in a small town. Throughout the novel, outside circumstances bring Eugene to understand his need for new passion. For example, Eugene’s trips to the South with his mother instill into him feelings of desire beyond Dixieland. His feeling for the South was “not so much historic as it was of the core and desire of dark romanticism...the magnetism of some men’s blood that takes them into the heart of the heat and beyond” (Wolfe 127). Eugene needs to seize the day and experience life to the fullest. His new love with Laura James helps him learn that he must enter a new place and find new love. Eugene tries to escape from being a “silent, lonely soul, cut off from an external world” (Roberts 81). Eugene not only yearns for love, but also for experience outside of his hometown. The mounting hum of war is a symbol of excitement to Eugene. He claims that “war is not death; war is life” (Wolfe 424). While many young men may be fearful of war, Eugene sees it as an inspiration and change of scenery. This shows how the outside world began to take effect on Eugene’s emotions.

Wolfe reinforces the idea of family life as an instigator for Eugene’s passion. Throughout Look Homeward, Angel, he demonstrates how the actions and mistakes of Eugene’s siblings cause Eugene to change his ways. For instance, Eugene reflects on the character of his sister Helen and realizes his distinct similarities to her. She did not know what she wanted to do with her life; it was “probable that she would never control even partially her destiny: she would be controlled, when the time came by the great necessity that lived in her, that of which was to enslave and to serve” (Wolfe 209). This makes Eugene realize that he must not let the same thing happen to him. This seems to be a turning point in his life – an understanding of what he must do to change his future and “release his gropings, his pain, his self-discovery, and his endless search for an enduring faith” (Miningco Encyclopedia). Eugene receives more support for his self-search with the illness and death of his brother Ben. Eugene thinks about his own life and what he seeks for as Ben “sought for his life, for the bright lost years” (Wolfe 450). Ben’s ghost tries to give Eugene advice about life and Eugene’s voyage and therefore, this demonstrates the affect of family on the young Eugene.

The third way in which Wolfe reveals Eugene’s passion is by showing how the worlds of high school and college help Eugene realize his need for challenge. As the novel proceeds, the reader can see how schooling itself helps Eugene formulate his ideas for his future. For example, the State University which Eugene attends may not satisfy his passion, but it helps him realize what he wants from life. When Eugene returns to college after Ben&#

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Approximate Word count = 2036
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous