Literary Precedents for The Body Artist

This Study Guide consists of approximately 11 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Body Artist.

Literary Precedents for The Body Artist

This Study Guide consists of approximately 11 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Body Artist.
This section contains 275 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)
Buy The Body Artist Short Guide

In interviews, it is common for DeLillo to mention that he has been influenced more by European films, Abstract Expressionism, and jazz than any particular authors or literary style. His emphasis on jazz, which played a major role in his development as a person as well as an artist, seems to be especially relevant for The Body Artist. In the novel, the narrator's observations and Lauren's thoughts are like a piece of jazz— words intertwine, interact, and test each other's limits. Jazz is the music that plays with time, and jazz's manipulations of time seem similar to DeLillo's own imaginings and expressions of it throughout the story.

DeLillo's novel, with its emphasis on the profound experience of the everyday, seems to fit well within a grouping that includes John Cheever and Raymond Carver. The former's focus on suburban settings and everyday life shares the idea...

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This section contains 275 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)
Buy The Body Artist Short Guide
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The Body Artist from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.