Preview of Midcentury Summary:

Just as Dos Passos's social concerns represent a significant departure from those of the novels of the 1930s, his themes indicate artistic and philosophical maturation. He is concerned with the ways in which sexual and fraternal love pose an antidote to the universal problem of alienation. This theme receives a more optimistic treatment in this novel than in the U.S.A. trilogy (1930-1936). In those books, Dos Passos despaired of any possible...