Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By John Irving
Jennifer Bart
Period 6
Author Biography
• John Irving was born in New Hampshire during the second
World War. Despite being terribly shy, and dyslexic, John
became “an enthusiastic reader and student of literature”
(John Irving Biography).
• After college, Irving went abroad and “roamed Europe on a
motorcycle,” gathering experiences for his novels (John
Irving Biography).
• John came back to the states and took a job as a college
professor, which he would do until he was able to sustain
himself as a professional writer. His fourth novel, The World
According to Garp, made him extremely famous, and every
book he wrote subsequently would become a best‐seller.
Although John now had the means to write full time, he
chose to continue teaching and coaching his favorite sport,
wrestling (John Irving Biography)
Author’s Relation to Novel
• John Irving had a hard time deciding what The World
According to Garp was really about. He asks his twelve‐year
old son to read the book and accepted his conclusion about it.
According to Irving, the book is about “The fear of death or
the death of children‐or of anyone you love” (Lundquist).
Irving also said, “My view of the world was intrinsically
informed by having children and my fear for what happens to
them” (Lundquist).
• Irving’s similarities to Garp include the fact that Garp was a
writer like him, Garp had two sons like him, and Garp loved to
wrestle and coached wrestling, like him. (Lundquist).
Plot Summary
• The World According to Garp is about “The bastard son of
Jenny Fields‐a feminist leader ahead of her times. This is the
life and death of a famous mother and her almost‐famous
son” (Lundquist). Garp grows up with his nurse mother, who
works at a private school and is able to get her son a spot at
the prestigious school because she is part of the staff.
• Garp becomes a writer and marries Helen, his wresting
coach’s daughter. They have two young son, but tragedy
strikes their family and one of the sons is killed. Garp and
Helen have a third child, a daughter named after his mother.
Throughout the novel, sexual “lust” destroys all of the
characters, and drives the plot.
Setting
• The book was set in New Hampshire. It begins in
1942 (although there are flashbacks to earlier
times), and goes through the 1970’s‐1980’s.
• The physical setting is backdrop, as the plot
could have occurred anywhere. The time,
however, is integral. The feminist movement
began in the 1960’s, and because of the feminist
movement, Garp’s mother was so ahead of her
time.
Setting Quotes
• Physical Setting Quote:
• “They lived in a large, shingled house on the New Hampshire shore at
Dog’s Head Harbor” (Irving 3).
• About the private school where Garp was educated, and Jenny worked:
• “The Steering School, where Jenny’s father and brothers had gone, was
at that time and all‐boys’ school. Jenny believed that if she could endure
her confinement there‐through young Garp’s prep school years‐she
would be doing the best for her son” (Irving 34).
• Year Quote:
• “Garp’s mother, Jenny Fields, was arrested in Boston in 1942 for
wounding a man in a movie theater” (1).
Character’s Significance
• Jenny Field’s and her son Garp, while popular,
are not necessarily quoted in every day life.
Still, the novel has a famous last line, “In the
world according to Garp, we are all terminal
cases” (Irving 609). Garp, of course, is
referring to his writer’s ambition, which is “to
keep everyone alive, forever.”
Quotes!
• Protagonist Quotes:
• Garp: “[The writer’s ambition is]…trying to keep
everyone alive, forever. Even the ones who must die
in the end. They’re the most important to keep
alive” (Irving 609).
• Garp: “An epilogue,” Garp wrote, “is more than a
body count. An epilogue, in the disguise of
wrapping up the past, is really a way of warning us
about the future” (Irving 567).
Antagonist
• Garp’s fears, which are, of course, realistic. In the
book, he calls it “The Under Toad” because when
his boy was young, and the family was on the
beach, they used to tell him, “Be careful of the
undertow! Don’t go out too far.” The boy, of course,
thought they were saying, “Be careful of the Under
TOAD, a monster in the water! After that day the
family always used “The Under Toad” to describe
the terrible, unknown darkness that lurks over all of
us, fear.
Antagonist Quotes
• (While Garp was dying…)
• “If he could have talked, he would have told
Helen not to be frightened of the Under Toad
anymore. It surprised him to realize that the
Under Toad was no stranger, was not even
mysterious; the Under Toad was very familiar‐
as if he had always known it, as if he had
grown up with it” (575).
Antagonist Quote #2
• When Garp wrote a book about a family
tragedy, his wife Helen said to him, “I won’t
read it…not one word of it. I know you have to
write it, but I never want to see it. I don’t
mean to hurt you, but you have to
understand. I have to forget it; if you have to
write about it, God help you. People bury
these things in different ways” (Irving 390).
Themes, According to the Experts
• “Gender Roles”‐Jenny Fields is a feminist who resents the idea that a
woman must be “either somebody’s wife or somebody’s whore.” Ironically,
her son Garp ends up being the caretaker of the children (cooking,
cleaning, etc).
• “Death and Disfigurement”‐in the book, “Irving seems almost obsessed
with the absurdity and randomness of violence and death” (Notes on
Novels).
• “Love and Lust”‐Jenny Fields is always commenting on how all people are
victims of lust‐except her, of course. Garp himself is a victim of lust,
contracting gonorrhea, soliciting prostitutes, etc. However, he truly loves
his wife, Helen. He sees his mother as somewhat cold because she never
felt lust in her entire life (hence, Garp’s conception was planned and
random).
Themes, continued.
• “Art and Creativity”‐Garp is constantly
looking for his source of inspiration as a
writer. Like most writers, he is “cursed by
writer’s block at various moments in his
career,” and he “uses his art as a catharsis for
personal tragedy….” (Notes on Novels).
Themes from my viewpoint
• I felt “Fear” was the main theme of the novel,
because there seemed to be a constant sense of
foreshadowing throughout the novel. Also, Garp was
constantly worried about his kids; in the end,
though, terrible things happened anyway. All of his
fear was a waste of time, because no matter how
careful he was, he couldn’t stop bad things from
happening.
Significance in America
• Fear of violent crime is a rational fear in our society,
as is the death of loved ones. Love and Lust are also a
huge part of society; everywhere we look, smart
people make stupid decisions because of lust (For
example, President Clinton…or, anyone who has ever
contracted a sexually transmitted disease because
they were too caught up in a moment to use good
judgment). Also, our country has one of the highest
crime (specifically murder) rates, in the world.
What was happening in America?
• The feminist movement came to be a huge
part of American culture in the 1960’s. In the
novel, a group of women decide to cut off
their tongues to make a feminist statement. I
believe Irving is making a statement about
blindly following a trend. There are better
ways to get your point across than maiming
yourself!
Novel Reviews
• Both reviews I read had both good and bad to say about the novel.
• Good news first: One critic says, “John Irving is a master of pacing,
movement, plot, and interesting characters, and Garp is one of his best
books” (Follett).
• A critic from the New York Times, however, who did enjoy the book,
nevertheless has one bad thing to say about it: “The World According to
Garp, for all its realism, is not a realistic novel” (Lehmann‐Haupt).
• All together, book reviewers had both positive and negative to say about
the book. Perhaps most importantly for those looking to be entertained,
Lehmann‐Haupt says of the book, “It is not the first time we have laughed
for what seem to be inappropriate reasons, nor will it be the last).
Garp, the movie!
• The World According to Garp was made into
a movie that came out on July 23, 1982.
• Robin Williams plays Garp, while Glenn Close
plays Jenny Fields.
• Other stars in the movie include John
Lithgow and Jessica Tandy.
My Opinion
• I loved The World According To Garp! The novel made me laugh, cry, and most of
all, made me angry! The fear that Garp feels is a fear that I can relate to, being a
constant worrier myself. Most of us worry about our loved ones, and the novel
made me feel oddly unsettled as I learned what Garp learned: nothing you can
do will prevent tragedy. And, it may seem a pessimistic way to view life, but we
really are “all terminal cases” because we’re all going to die eventually. Sadly,
Garp doesn’t realize until his dying moments that he shouldn’t have been so
focused on preventing the inevitable; his fears robbed him of other, more
positive emotions he could have been feeling instead.
• After all of my studying of the novel, I come away feeling I should be extremely
grateful for what I have, and cherish every moment of my life. As corny as it may
sound, it is what Garp never could learn, and maybe what he would have done if
he had it all to do over.
Works Cited
• Follett, Katherine. The World According to Garp. Not Coming To A
Theater Near You. 27 October 2008. <http://www.notcoming.
com>.
• John Irving Biography. 3 November 2005. Academy of Achievement.
22 October 2008. <http://achievement.org>.
• Irving, John. The World According to Garp. New York: Ballantine Books,
1978.
• Lehmann‐Haupt, Christopher. The World According to Garp.
13 April 1978. The New York Times. 27 October 2008.
<http://www.nytimes.com/books>.
• Lundquist, Molly. The World According to Garp. Litlovers. 22 October
2008. <http://www.litlovers.com/guide>.
• Notes On Novels. The World According to Garp. 2006. 27 October
2008. <http://www.answers.com>.
• The World According to Garp. 1990‐2008. IMBd. 27 October 2008.
<http://us.imbd.com/title/tt0084917>.