Fiction and the small town in the United States: a contribution to the study of urbanisation

Abstract

In recent years human geographers have turned to creative writing as a source of insights, and it is suggested that data can be derived to shed light on Facts, Experiences and Meanings. A large group of United States novels reveals two shifts in opinion of the small town compared with the city. Up to 1880 the small town was seen favourably, but from 1880 to about 1935 it was seen as vicious and repellent. A return to a favourable image then took place and continues. Using the approach of Raymond Williams to literature as ‘production’, these novels can be seen as a signifying system reinforcing public opinion as an integral part of the process of urbanisation.

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