Abstract
The main concern in this thesis is an examination of Tom Wolfe s presentation of his views on American society in his writing. I have chosen to examine his works of literary journalism, represented by The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and Radical Chic, together with his latest fictional work, A Man in Full. The thesis starts with a discussion of the representation of truth in literature. Wolfe operates with a view of how truth and reality are best presented in literary works which is different from that held by most contemporary writers. He argues that the genres literary journalism and realism are better equipped to present a fuller picture of reality than either conventional journalism or other modes of fiction, as he considers the former to be too fragmented and the latter to have become too subjectively oriented toward the author s own experiences to be of real interest to the reader. At the same time, Wolfe himself seems to present a very subjective view of reality in his writing despite his theoretical approach to the issue.
The main focus of the thesis is on the analysis of the above mentioned texts, discussing thematic aspects which the three texts have in common, as well as some traits of Wolfe s narrative technique which also reoccur in all the chosen texts.