Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1983

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Coyle, William

Abstract

The novels of John Irving reflect a consistent view of the world as a threatening, disordered place. How Irving's characters manage to live meaningfully in the face of such disorder is a major theme. Some characters react to their awareness of a frightening reality with passivity or detachment. These are sometimes anti-heroes in the Austrian tradition, and they often reflect an Aurelian stoicism. Other characters more nearly fulfill Irving's prescription for a meaningful life. Several of these more successful characters rely on imagination to balance the stress of reality, much as the persona in the poems of Wallace Stevens do. Furthermore, the more successful characters have in common a basic decency, an Aurelian stability, and a willingness to engage other people with energy and benevolence. With these guaiities, it is possible to live meaningfully in spite of a hazardous and disordered world.

Extent

112 p.

Comments

FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1983.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Identifier

FADT14148

Format

pdf

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