ture in which it lives? The articles by Richard G. Androne and Stacey Olster
should be consulted, along with Vargo’s “Corn Chips, Catheters, Toyotas: The
Making of History in Rabbit at Rest ” in Broer’s Rabbit Tales.- As is the case with any major writer, Updike has received his share of critique
along with the acclaim. That critique has followed two primary lines: that his
depictions of women are largely negative, not fully developed, and/or objectify-
ing, and that he focuses too much on a white, Protestant, upper-middle-class
perspective. Students might explore the terms in which either of these debates
have been grounded and then argue for one side or the other, or perhaps for
a third perspective. For the debate surrounding Updike’s treatment of women,
students could start with the articles by Jan Clausen and Sally Robinson and
Michiko Kakutani’s “Critic’s Notebook: Updike’s Long Struggle to Portray
Women” (1988); Mary O’Connell’s book-length analysis, Updike and the
Patriarchal Dilemma: Masculinity in the Rabbit Novels (1996), should also be
consulted. For the view that the self-absorption of characters such as Rabbit is
also a fault of Updike himself, see the twin articles by the critic Sven Birkerts
and the novelist David Foster Wallace. For a defense of Updike against these
articles, see William H. Pritchard’s “Updike’s Way” (2000).
RESOURCES
Primary Works
Introduction, Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by Updike and
Katrina Kenison (New York: Hougton Mifflin, 1999).
Useful for understanding Updike’s view of what was important and interesting in
twentieth-century fiction.
Diane Osen, “Interview with John Updike,” National Book Foundation Archives
http://www.nationalbook.org/authorsguide_jupdike.html [accessed 4
March 2010].
Focuses on Updike’s influences and the Rabbit novels, including themes of
father-son conflict and genetic heritage.
James Plath, ed., Conversations with John Updike ( Jackson: University Press of
Mississippi, 1994).
Strong selection of thirty-two interviews conducted between 1959 and 1993.
Although Updike described himself as disliking interviews, he is a generous
interviewee, willing to talk about a wide range of subjects. The book includes a
chronology of his life.
“Showing Ordinary Life As Being Worth Writing About,” Academy of American
Achievement (12 June 2004) http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/
upd0int-1 [accessed 4 March 2010].
Interview in which Updike discusses his childhood, early career, interest in real-
ism, reading interests, advice to young writers, and conception of the American
dream. He also talks about the Rabbit novels and explains his decision to end
them.