SOURCE: "The Question of Regionalism: Limitation and Transcendence," in The American Short Story, 1900-1945, Twayne Publishers, 1984, pp. 147-82.

Below, Rohrberger observes that modern civilization's lack of spiritual values is the cause of individual and societal failure in Farrell's short fiction.

Best known for his Studs Lonigan trilogy, James T. Farrell writes of the failure of institutions to provide moral sanctions sufficient to maintain spiritual values that define civilization at its best. The disease that takes over when a moral vacuum exists is both personal and social, manifesting itself in the disintegration of character. Farrell's popularity in recent years has diminished, although at one time he was considered to be one of this country's important writers.

As a short story writer, Farrell is better than [Sinclair] Lewis, though Farrell, too, often gets no further than surfaces; still, his range is greater and his tone more varied. "The Power of...