Election (1998 novel)
Encyclopedia
Election is a 1998
novel by Tom Perrotta
. It is a black comedy
about a high school history teacher who attempts to sabotage a manipulative, overly-ambitious girl's campaign to become school president. In 1999, the novel was adapted into a film of the same title
.
. Tracy Flick
is an unpopular girl but very ambitious, intelligent and manipulative; however, she is not quite as perfect as her classmates assume. She had a heated sexual affair with her former teacher, and after Tracy told her mother of their relationship, his career, and marriage were ruined. Mr. M, one of Tracy's current teachers, learns that Tracy is taking part in the election, and feeling that Tracy needs to be taken down a notch, prompts Paul Warren (a student of whom he approves) to run against her. In turn, Paul's outcast lesbian
sister, Tammy, begins a reckless campaign to be school president in retaliation to her ex-girlfriend who is now dating Paul. The novel ends with Mr. M ultimately losing his job as a teacher when it is found that he has sabotaged the election by pocketing Tracy's winning votes- making Paul the winner of the presidency. Mr. M then ends up working in a car dealership.
called it a "darkly eerie and winning new novel", and The New York Times
wrote that the novel "provides gratifyingly exact and telling portraits of the kids themselves. Solid plotting guarantees that the reader really does want to learn who wins when the ballots are finally counted."
1998 in literature
The year 1998 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 5 - Tennessee Williams' 1938 play, Not About Nightingales, receives its stage première....
novel by Tom Perrotta
Tom Perrotta
Thomas R. Perrotta is an Albanian-American/ Italian-American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novels Election and Little Children , both of which were made into critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated films...
. It is a black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
about a high school history teacher who attempts to sabotage a manipulative, overly-ambitious girl's campaign to become school president. In 1999, the novel was adapted into a film of the same title
Election (1999 film)
Election is a 1999 American comedy film adapted from a 1998 novel of the same title by Tom Perrotta. The plot revolves around a three-way election race in high school, and satirizes both suburban high school life and politics...
.
Synopsis
The novel centers on a high school in suburban New Jersey, where students are preparing to vote for their school president. The story takes place in 1992, amidst the U.S. Presidential Elections that yearUnited States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
. Tracy Flick
Tracy Flick
Tracy Enid Flick is a fictional character, originating in the 1998 novel Election by Tom Perrotta and portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in the 1999 film adaptation of the same title. Tracy is a smart, ambitious high school student, whose quest to win a school election is nearly derailed by her own...
is an unpopular girl but very ambitious, intelligent and manipulative; however, she is not quite as perfect as her classmates assume. She had a heated sexual affair with her former teacher, and after Tracy told her mother of their relationship, his career, and marriage were ruined. Mr. M, one of Tracy's current teachers, learns that Tracy is taking part in the election, and feeling that Tracy needs to be taken down a notch, prompts Paul Warren (a student of whom he approves) to run against her. In turn, Paul's outcast lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
sister, Tammy, begins a reckless campaign to be school president in retaliation to her ex-girlfriend who is now dating Paul. The novel ends with Mr. M ultimately losing his job as a teacher when it is found that he has sabotaged the election by pocketing Tracy's winning votes- making Paul the winner of the presidency. Mr. M then ends up working in a car dealership.
Reception
The novel was a moderate success and received critical praise. The San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
called it a "darkly eerie and winning new novel", and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that the novel "provides gratifyingly exact and telling portraits of the kids themselves. Solid plotting guarantees that the reader really does want to learn who wins when the ballots are finally counted."