Thomas Wolfe grew up in a large family that he loved and cherished very much (Thomas Wolfe Web Page). He was the youngest child of eight children (Thomas Wolfe Web Page). Family apparently played a big part of Thomas Wolfe’s life which is probably why he made it such a prominent part of his short story, “The Lost Boy” (Anthology of Thirties Prose). Thomas Wolfe should probably be compared to the character of Eugene in “The Lost Boy (Thomas Wolfe Web Page). Both Thomas and Eugene were younger brothers who looked up to their older brothers very much (Anthology of Thirties Prose).

Thomas Wolfe’s work “The Lost Boy” is divided into four different parts each told by a different member of the family (Anthology of Thirties Prose). The main character in the short story is Grover who is two years younger than his sister but eight years older than his brother (Anthology of Thirties Prose). In the story, Grover proves to be a hero to his older brother and little sister by doing things as simple and little as buying them a treat of chocolate to eat or some ice cream on a hot day (Anthology of Thirties Prose). Ideally Grover is the best brother in the entire world, but ends up dying of Typhoid fever when he is only twelve years old (Anthology of Thirties Prose).

“The Lost Boy” was written as a modernist piece of work (The Influence of Modernist Structure). The short story was written with little point or plot, but really stresses the emotional connections between all of the characters and their feelings within the story (The Influence of Modernist Structure). What makes the story even more of a modernistic story is all of the complex ties within the story (The Influence of Modernist Structure). The narrator, Eugene, goes on a journey to find the house that his older brother, Grover died in (The Influence of Modernist Structure). Eugene searched many streets and houses until he finally came to the correct home (The Influence of Modernist Structure). Once he found the home that he knew was his, he made friends with the woman who lived there and convinced her to take him on a tour of the home (The Influence of Modernist Structure). The emotional ties between the people and locations of the short story make it a modernism piece of work (The Influence of Modernist Structure).

In another work by Thomas Wolfe entitled, “Wind”, Wolfe makes the narrator seem to be looking for hope just like the characters in “The Lost Boy” (Wind). In Wolfe’s poem, the main character is trying to get over a loved one, yet showing no plot or plan on how to get over the loss (Wind). “The Lost Boy shows a different sign because of the need for Eugene to find the house that his brother died in, he needs go to the old town of St. Louis where he used to live, which shows how hard he is trying to get a glimpse of his past (The Influence of Modernist Structure).



"The Influence Of Modernist Structure On The Short Fiction Of Thomas Wolfe - Research and Read Books, Journals, Articles at." Questia Online Library. Web. 03 May 2010. <http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LfwQg9VX6kJmTLFvRVMmYLplWmtshmhwxTHWThCvMpmBMnBvR668!851822211!555708061?docId=5001662384>.


"THOMAS WOLFE WEB PAGE." University of North Carolina Wilmington, Randall Library Homepage. Web. 03 May 2010. <http://library.uncwil.edu/wolfe/bio.htm>.

"Anthology of Thirties Prose." American Studies @ The University of Virginia. Web. 04 May 2010. <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/white/anthology/wolfe.html>.



Wind. "The Web Poetry Corner - Thomas Wolfe - Wind." The Dream Machine. Web. 03 May 2010. <http://www.dreamagic.com/cgi-bin/PoetryGen.cgi?author=Thomas_Wolfe&html=wolfe&title=Wind&number=0005>.