John Updike
The spring of 1932, a child was born on a small farm in the hills of Pennsylvania. He would grow up yearning to see what was outside of his tiny existence and his life would eventually take him to the best schools in the country, and then to one of the most prominent magazines in the world. Although as a child, John Updike lived in a fairly sheltered world but experienced and learned much about what was happening around him through reading. Mr. Updike’s most influential readings came from the likes of Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, and P.G. Wodehouse (Pritchard 12). After a promising up- bringing, John Updike chose to attend Harvard University after learning of the well-respected school newspaper, the Harvard Lampoon, which was published there. Updike spent some time in England but eventually settled down in Massachusetts where he began his full-time career as a writer.One of the most interesting points about John Updikes career is that he wrote about and analyzed many different topics from the oddest to the most ordinary. His writings were influenced by the time periods in which they were written and exposed many controversial subjects that were not highly publicized at the time. Such as one of his first . . .
The first poem in the collection deals with Updike poking fun at the outrageous expense of a Rolls Royce. Many people believe that Updike’s portrayal of the relationship between the sexes is far different than anything he had previously written. The longest of the four, Rabbit at Rest once again brings the reader back to the fictional Diamond County in which Rabbit has lived throughout the Tetralogy. Updike’s writings deal with the core of human experience. Not only has John Updike been recognized as a profoundly successful writer of novels, but he has also acquired some recognition as a poet. The novel tells a story of a father and son. In this edition, Rabbit works as a car salesman during the gas shortage of the late seventies (Pritchard 284). All of Rabbit’s close friends notice how much sugars and salts he has been eating, but when they express their concerns for him, he just shrugs them off and tells them that he is fine (Pritchard 290). Rabbit ends up having a serious heart attack that damages his heart so bad that he has to undergo angioplasty. The last of the four novels, Rabbit at Rest, is set during the late 80’s when the AIDS epidemic was beginning to run rampant among the population (Prescott). Theses works evoke the human spirit and explain much about the relationships that are shared by many. This story was influenced by the events that took place to young Updike, when he visited fairs that were held at a poorhouse, located down the street from his home. After these events the women ironically remarry and live out the rest of their lives as devoted housewives (Pritchard 206). novels entitled, The Poorhouse Fair, which was published in 1959.
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Acceptance Essays
