Mimetic Desire in John Dos Passos's U.S.A. Trilogy

Papers on Language and Literature, Spring 2005 by Packer, Matthew J

As history moves on from the war, U.S.A. 's characters increasingly find themselves swept along by tributary currents leading into the vortex of the "Big Money"-economic determinism prevails in the trilogy's final novel. The allegorical career of aviation entrepreneur Charley Anderson vividly portrays the imitative behavior at the core of business life. Even as a fledgling in the aviation industry, Charley cottons on fast when his venture capitalist Andy Merritt first arrives: walking through their production plant, Charley

took out a piece of paper and started making notes. As that seemed to go big with Merritt he made a lot more notes. Then Joe [his business partner] started making notes too. When Merritt took out a little book and started making notes himself, Charley knew he'd done the right thing. (841)

Soon he finds imitation and rivalry essential for business: after the Askew-Merritt Company's inaugural meeting at the Lilienthal law office, Charley asks, '"for crissake, Joe, are we rookin' those guys or are they rookin' us?'" (843). Charlie's assumption about any competition, "'I guess they'll all rook you if they can'" (952), prepares him for business where mimetic calculations are vital for survival: "'if they try to rook us we'll fight'" (949).

The complicity of the government in the mimetically charged growth of the aviation industry is also significant in The Big Money. The influence and aid of the federal administration, or, more accurately in Charley's case, personal assurance from Senator Planet, helps ratchet up the value of Charley's "concern." In the development of the nation's air-routes,

the question would be of course which of a number of competing concerns enjoyed the confidence of the administration. [. . .] "A question of the confidence of the Administration, ma boy." At the word confidence, Senator Planet's black eyes shone. "That's why ma boy, I'm glad to see you up here. Stick close to our little village on the Potomac, ma boy." (1067)

Charley's signature reply of '"check"' indicates his willingness to match the proposition. When confirmation of support for Charlie's business arrives from the Senator, Dos Passos provides a snapshot of mimetic feedback at speed-where the technologies mediating the economic exchange actually accelerate the deal:

the telegram [. . .] was from the senator: ADMINISTRATION PREPARES OATS FOR PEGASUS. As soon as he got back to the beach Charley talked to Nat Benton over longdistance. Next day airplane stocks bounced when the news came over the wires of a bill introduced to subsidize airlines. Charley sold everything he had at the top, covered his margins and was sitting pretty when the afternoon papers killed the story. (1072)

The technologies here and Planet's tip allow Charley to cash in by anticipating the market's response. Evident here is precisely the kind of pre-emptive and rivalrous mentality that Dos Passos depicts in his Samuel Insull biography and which precipitates the 1929 stock market crash. The author writes of the David who brought down the Goliath, a certain Reverend Eaton who