War, Homecoming and Genre: John Mulgan's 'Man Alone' and Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road'

Abstract

At first glance there appears to be little similarity between John Mulgan's Man Alone (1939) and Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957). One is a New Zealand realist novel that appeared just on the outbreak of World War Two, the other an American conffessional text that articulates the emergence of a post-World War Two counterculture. Nevertheless, despite obvious differences in context, style and tone, both novels share a thematic concern with the reintegration of veterans to civilian life. Both narratives focus on a male protagonist recently returned from global conflict who expresses unease regarding their environment and an inability to be at home within it.