ABSTRACT
The Irish are a persistent presence in American literature during the period that stretches from the mid-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. They crowd together below decks in Melville and climb the ship’s rigging in Cooper; they promote temperance in Whitman, but drink themselves to death in Twain; in James they build shanties along New York’s East River and in Crane they work the streets and run frontier hotels; they are among the Southerners in Faulkner, as well as the pioneers in Cather; they entertain high-society crowds in Wharton and privately pray for forgiveness in O’Connor; they go to war in Fitzgerald and plot murder in Eliot; in Steinbeck they lose their fortunes and in O’Neill they lose their sanity. Occasionally, the Irish feature prominently in these works; often, they lurk in the background. Yet, if we are to believe some of the more cursory literary histories, it would appear that, despite this abundance, Irish Americans only exist as two types of character: the lace-curtain social climber and the romantic street tough. This is gross oversimplifi cation. There is more to the Irish in American literature than a mere collection of Teagues and Paddys.
