Societal structure, family, and masculinity in the Bildungsroman: an analysis of The Great Santini and Portnoy's Complaint

Aaron Salzman
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:51:51 PDT

This thesis considers the idea of Becoming as presented in post-World War II American novels. As a model, the Hero's Journey is presented as a structure in which an individual can achieve freedom and satisfaction through discipline ,according to internal psychological forces in combination with external narratives. In the body of this piece, I present two narratives: Ben Meechum's successful journey to adulthood under the cruel tutelage of his father, and Alex Portnoy's journey to an unstable adulthood after choosing a life different from what was modeled by his overbearing parents, who followed strict cultural rules. By comparing a successful journey to one which is unsuccessful, we can note how deviancies in upbringing, according to structures like The Hero's Journey, have a lasting impact characters as they seek to become well-adjusted, productive adults. We can also note the necessity of Becoming for the success of a character, as well as the fact that completing a Becoming journey is not guaranteed. The Hero's Journey is a literary story structure that appears in these novels and shows a path to Becoming.