This juxtaposition of fiction and history makes it difficult for the reader to tell whether some passages of the book are really fictional or a representation of historical facts. Doctorow style brings innovation to literary forms, being considered a post-modern narrative, breaking up with some literary values and devices that had been used before since the romantic era. Maybe this shift in the literary form implemented by Doctorow is an evidence that the old forms did not apply anymore to that kind of society - which is the same thing that happened with the developing of the romantic narrati...

• Word Count: 1122
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the essay "Why the Novel Matters", Lawrence explores in his own way the Romantic concept of the relativity of parts and wholes to construct a doctrinal statement celebrating the novel over other fields of thought. ... So the superficial "logic" of this passage is conspicuously off: to refute the notion that the body is merely a vessel for the soul, he "proves" that skin and bone are just as "alive" as blood is. ...

• Word Count: 1195
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate