The 42nd Parallel

The 42nd Parallel was first published in 1930, as the first part of the U.S.A. Trilogy that covers the development of American society during the first three decades of the twentieth century. John Dos Passos uses different narrative techniques to evoke the emotions of the reader in this experimental series.  The twelve characters in the trilogy are introduced via fictional narratives telling their life stories, newspaper clippings, song lyrics, short biographies of figures from the public eye, and the characters' own autobiographical stream of consciousness writing.