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Manhattan Transfer Study Guide

by John Passos

Manhattan Transfer study guide contains a biography of John Passos, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Ellen Thatcher is born to Ed Thatcher, an accountant, and his wife Susie. Meanwhile, Bud Korpenning arrives in New York by boat, ready to get a job and make a living. George Baldwin, a frustrated young lawyer, hears of a milkman being hit by a train car and takes on the case. The milkman is Gus McNeil; his wife Nellie begins an affair with the smitten Baldwin.

Jimmy Herf, a young boy, arrives in the city with his mother Lily, who suffers a stroke and dies soon thereafter. Jimmy is left in the care of his aunt and uncle, who would like to see him go to Princeton or Yale and attain financial success. Jimmy, however, has other plans, and goes into journalism.

By this point, Bud has thrown himself off the Brooklyn Bridge in desperation and Ellen…

Read the full Manhattan Transfer Summary

• Manhattan Transfer Summary
• About Manhattan Transfer
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Summary and Analysis of First Section, Chs. I-III
• Summary and Analysis of First Section, Chs. IV-V
• Summary and Analysis of Second Section, Chs. I-III
• Summary and Analysis of Second Section, Chs. IV-VI
• Summary and Analysis of Second Section, Chs. VII-VIII
• Summary and Analysis of Third Section, Chs. I-III
• Summary and Analysis of Third Section, Chs. IV-V
• Dos Passos's Style: The Filmic in Prose
• Related Links on Manhattan Transfer
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• Manhattan Transfer: Major Themes
• Manhattan Transfer: Essays
• Manhattan Transfer: Questions
• Manhattan Transfer: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• John Passos: Biography