Tropic of Cancer Themes

Tropic of Cancer grapples with the question of what constitutes literature, and in doing so it forces readers to contend with it as well. The novel begins with the bold declamation, “This is not a book, in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art […].” As the work proceeds, it seems intent on sticking to this credo: the most basic hallmarks…

Tropic of Cancer is a classic novel of an American abroad. Self-imposed exile to Europe (frequently to Paris in particular) has long been a rite of passage for American writers, and Miller’s Modernist generation is especially associated with this trend. The novel is a baldly autobiographical account of Miller’s experiences in Paris, and it’s packed with his reflections on the difference between Paris and New York (his birthplace), and more broadly between Europe and the…

Physical hunger is an omnipresent force in Tropic of Cancer. The novel depicts a world of penniless creatives living from meal to meal, scrounging whatever food or pocket change they can get from wherever they can get it. Henry and several of his friends conform to the typical “starving artist” profile—aspiring writers with big ideas and no desire to work any kind of conventional job. Yet everyday working people are likewise presented as scavengers…