The March

Today I attended my global literature class. It was on a book called The March by E.L. Doctorow, published in 2005, about Sherman’s civil war march through the South. Did you know there was another book about the civil war called “March” published the same year and written by a woman that won a Pulitzer? Isn’t that weird?

The discussion was interesting about how historical events are portrayed. What biases do historians bring into their narratives vs. what biases do writers of fiction introduce? Here’s a little excerpt of the lecture notes:

"Part of Doctorow's purpose here is to reproduce the chaos and random cruelty of war; a number of characters are introduced, complete with loves, fears and dreams, only to die horribly a few pages later. The obvious flaw with this approach is that the novel can feel too diffuse and we become wary of getting attached to any one character in case they don’t last the night. Only Pearl's story is given a beginning and the intimation of a future that might include happiness. Yet Doctorow invests even the smallest cameo with great humanity and significance. Both the dialogue and the inner monologues are exquisitely rendered."
1-31