Although at its heart it is the story of one man's personal conflict, Independence Day, as befits its tide, has been called by many critics a vital portrait of American life and a truly American novel.
Through the character of Frank Bascombe—a sort of suburban American Everyman—the novel looks at ways in which occupation, environment, and relationships have come to define American men, both to others and to themselves. Frank sells homes, and his occupation is tied into satisfying a part of the American dream: a place of one's own, especially a house in suburbia, has for much of the latter half of this century been a condition to which one might aspire. In fact, Frank's employer equates realty with progress, and progress is certainly one of the ideals upon which America is based. In.....
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