Irving’s friendship with fellow best-selling author
Kurt Vonnegut is reflected in the plots of several
of Irving’s novels. Unlike his mode of storytelling,
these plots are not at all comfortable. As in Vonne-
gut’s books, Irving’s characters are frequently over-
whelmed by forces they cannot control and must
seek new ways to cope with problems, because the
old solutions will not work. InThe Hotel New Hamp-
shire, a family tries desperately to stay together in the
face of a world full of chaos and violence. The title is
a reference to three hotels the family operates, none
of which is successful, a metaphor for their declining
life. The “cider house rules” referred to in the book
of that title are posted in a cider house where one of
the main characters works. He finds that no one fol-
lows the rules; the actual rules are determined by the
dominant male worker. Similarly, the main charac-
ter begins the book opposed to abortion; by the end,
he finds that the rules with which he started out his
career do not apply, and he performs abortions. The
title character ofA Prayer for Owen Meanywants to be
a hero of the Vietnam War and save the Vietnamese
people. He does help save them, but not in Vietnam
and not from communism. Rather, he saves Viet-
namese immigrants in Arizona from a homicidal
American.
Impact Irving used the realist novel form continu-
ally to remind his readers that nothing is as simple as
it seems. As an author successful with both readers
and critics, he helped define the literary culture of
the 1980’s, and he intertwined that culture with is-
sues of concern during the decade, reinforcing the
sense that literature could be relevant to one’s daily
experience and could engage with a society increas-
ingly defined by its popular, visual media.
Further Reading
Campbell, Josie P.John Irving: A Critical Companion.
Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Davis, Todd F., and Kenneth Womack, eds.The Criti-
cal Response to John Irving. Westport, Conn.: Prae-
ger, 2004.
Reilly, Edward C.Understanding John Irving. Colum-
bia: University of South Carolina Press, 1991.
Jim Baird
See also Abortion; Book publishing; Literature in
the United States.
Israel and the United States
Definition Diplomatic, economic, and strategic
relations between the United States and Israel
The special relationship between the United States and Is-
rael continued during the 1980’s, as, despite some difficul-
ties, Washington supported the Jewish state militarily and
politically against its hostile Arab neighbors while seeking
to find a road to peace in the Middle East.
Throughout the 1980’s, American officials at the
national, state, and local levels overwhelmingly ex-
pressed support for Israel and its security, while hop-
ing that the peace initiatives of the 1970’s, known
as the Camp David Accords, would continue. Behind
the scenes, however, while the United States contin-
ued to assure Israel of its support, there were also
some disagreements and confrontations. Ronald
Reagan was one of Israel’s staunchest presidential
supporters. His commitment to the Jewish state
stemmed from political, historical, and strategic U.S.
interests, as well as his own personal religious feelings
toward the biblical homeland of the Jews, to which he
often referred in speeches. Reagan also looked on Is-
rael as an important ally in his confrontation with the
Soviet Union.
Washington established communication, security,
and economic links with Tel Aviv. The administra-
tion expanded the U.S.-Israel Strategic Cooperation
Agreement to include the Joint Political-Military
Group ( JPMG), which oversaw joint programs in-
volving military and intelligence affairs. It also estab-
lished the Joint Security Planning Group ( JSPG) to
plan for Israel’s security needs within existing bud-
get constraints. Washington also introduced a U.S.-
Israeli free trade agreement that afforded Israel the
same status as Western Europe, leading to increased
trade between the two countries. In 1985, the presi-
dent authorized a $1.5 billion grant to alleviate Tel
Aviv’s runaway inflation. The grant created a prece-
dent, continuing throughout the decade and be-
yond, as more financial and military aid was given to
Israel annually.
Washington did not always move in lockstep with
Tel Aviv, however. In March, 1980, when Jimmy
Carter was still in office, the United States joined
other members of the U.N. Security Council in con-
demning Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
Carter did still support Tel Aviv at the United Na-
tions, which condemned the extension of Israeli lawThe Eighties in America Israel and the United States 535