that would become the signature Tyler protagonist:
an ordinary Baltimore-area resident (in this case,
Morgan Gower) who addresses middle-age malaise
with random acts of interpersonal connection laced,
more often than not, with an extraordinarily quirky
dimension.
Morgan’s Passingwas followed byDinner at the
Homesick Restaurant(1982), which received exten-
sive critical acclaim from both scholarly and casual
readers. This novel, a narrative told in flashback of
Pearl Tull’s problematic relationships with her three
children, is arguably Anne Tyler’s richest in terms of
plot and character, and it stands as the work that
placed her name on the list of must-read writers of
the era. Her next two novels enjoyed equal popular-
ity, and both were honored with prestigious literary
awards.The Accidental Tourist(1985), winner of the
National Book Critics Circle Award, introduced read-
ers to Macon Leary, a travel writer who overcomes
family tragedy and obsession with control to experi-
ence another Tyler trademark plot point: the oppor-
tunity to reinvent one’s life.
Three years later, Tyler’s novelBreathing Lessons
(1988) received the Pulitzer Prize. In this work, the
family foibles of the Moran clan unfold against the
backdrop of a drive from Baltimore to Pennsylvania
to attend a funeral.Breathing Lessonsfeatures several
plot devices that Tyler employed in the two novels
immediately preceding it. For example, both Macon
Leary and Ira Moran are male lead characters who
crave control. Impulsive marriages following an
abrupt jilting play a role inDinner at the Homesick Res-
taurantas well as inBreathing Lessons, and both novels
include scenes of unpleasant family dinners. Despite
recurring motifs and situations, Tyler’s consistently
careful crafting of characters makes each family en-
semble unique and memorable.
Impact Anne Tyler’s treatment of subject matter
previously considered too mundane for the novel—
life events randomly experienced by average, uncel-
ebrated families—paved the way for other writers of
the 1980’s and beyond to address similar topics. In
addition, her concentration on the Baltimore, Mary-
land, region of the United States was influential in
the growth and popularity of American Southern re-
gional fiction.
Further Reading
Bail, Paul.Anne Tyler: A Critical Companion.Westport,
Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Salwak, Dale, ed.Anne Tyler as Novelist.Iowa City:
University of Iowa Press, 1994.
Cecilia DonohueSee also Beattie, Ann; Erdrich, Louise; Literature
in the United States; Miller, Sue; Naylor, Gloria.Tyson, Mike
Identification World heavyweight boxing
champion
Born June 30, 1966; Brooklyn, New YorkTyson exploded onto the heavyweight boxing scene in the
middle of the 1980’s and remained a dominant figure in
the sports world generally for the remainder of the decade.After experiencing a troubled, inner-city childhood,
Mike Tyson was discovered in the early 1980’s by well-
known boxing manager and trainer Cus D’Amato,
who guided him into a professional boxing career.
Although relatively short for a modern-era heavy-
weight fighter at five feet, eleven inches, Tyson’s phy-
sique was heavily muscled and compact, and he
punched with a ferocious, animal intensity. On No-
vember 11, 1986, after winning his first twenty-seven
bouts—twenty-five of them by knockout—and less
than two years after the start of his professional ca-
reer, Tyson defeated Trevor Berbick in a dramatic
second-round technical knockout (TKO) to win the
World Boxing Council’s heavyweight title. At the age
of twenty years and four months, he was the youngest
man ever to win the heavyweight title, and his dra-
matic ascent in the sport captivated the nation in a
manner reminiscent of the emergence of Muham-
mad Ali two decades earlier.
Trained by D’Amato protégé Kevin Rooney fol-
lowing D’Amato’s death in November of 1985, Ty-
son quickly fought the leading heavyweights of the
period, and in the process unified the splintered
heavyweight division. He won the World Boxing
Association title by decision from James “Bone-
crusher” Smith in March of 1987, defeated highly
ranked heavyweight Pinklon Thomas by a sixth-round
knockout in May, and won the International Boxing
Federation title by decision from Tony Tucker in
August. After defending the title once more in De-
cember, he took on former champion Larry Holmes
in January of 1988, inflicting the only knockoutThe Eighties in America Tyson, Mike 995