page_title: Great American Novel
hierarchical_section_title: Great American Novel
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration of the final chase of Moby-Dick.
context_page_description: The term Great American Novel refers to a canonical novel that is thought to embody the essence of America. It is generally regarded as being written by an American and dealing in some way with the question of America's national character. The Great American Novel is considered America's equivalent of the national epic. The term was coined by John William De Forest in a 1868 essay. Although De Forest mentioned Uncle Tom's Cabin as a possible contender, he noted that the Great American Novel had most likely not been written yet. Writer Henry James shortened the term to GAN in 1880, and it has since evolved in meaning.
  In modern usage, the meaning of the term is often figurative and represents a canonical piece of literature, making it a literary benchmark emblematic of what defines U.S. literature in a given era. Practically, many academics use the term to refer to a small number of books that have historically been the nexus of discussion, including Moby-Dick, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Great Gatsby. However, there is no consensus on which novel, or novels, merits the title of Great American Novel.
context_section_description: The term Great American Novel (GAN) refers to a canonical novel that is thought to embody the essence of America. It is generally regarded as being written by an American and dealing in some way with the question of America's national character. The Great American Novel is considered America's equivalent of the national epic. The term was coined by John William De Forest in a 1868 essay. Although De Forest mentioned Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) as a possible contender, he noted that the Great American Novel had most likely not been written yet. Writer Henry James shortened the term to GAN in 1880, and it has since evolved in meaning. 
  In modern usage, the meaning of the term is often figurative and represents a canonical piece of literature, making it a literary benchmark emblematic of what defines U.S. literature in a given era. Practically, many academics use the term to refer to a small number of books that have historically been the nexus of discussion, including Moby-Dick (1851), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), and The Great Gatsby (1924). However, there is no consensus on which novel, or novels, merits the title of Great American Novel.
caption: Moby-Dick is commonly cited as the Great American Novel.
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