

The novel is ultimately a story of survival, as the men are forced to confront their fears and fight for their lives. The novel also examines the changing culture of the American South in the 1970s, as the Cahulawassee River is about to be destroyed by a dam. It also explores the idea of masculinity, as the men are forced to confront their own strengths and weaknesses in order to survive. The novel examines the idea of the “noble savage”, as the mountain men are portrayed as primal forces of nature that cannot be controlled or tamed. Teachingsĭeliverance is a story about the power of nature, both in its beauty and its danger.

The group eventually makes it downriver and back home to Atlanta, but their experience has forever changed them. The remaining men decide to keep their experience a secret, as they fear the consequences of revealing what happened. Lewis and Drew are forced to fight for their lives, and they manage to kill the two men.

The next day, Ed and Bobby stumble upon a pair of mountain men, who brutally rape Bobby and murder Ed. As they journey downriver, they encounter a group of hillbilly locals who threaten them and force them to participate in a dangerous game of “dueling banjos”. The river is soon to be flooded by a new dam, and the men are looking for a last chance to experience the area in its natural state. Lewis Medlock, Ed Gentry, Bobby Trippe and Drew Ballinger, four Atlanta businessmen, decide to take a weekend canoe trip on the Cahulawassee River in Northern Georgia. The novel has been praised for its vivid characterization and its masterful use of language.

Dickey’s novel is both a thrilling story of adventure, danger and survival and an exploration of the darker side of human nature. The novel follows four men-Lewis Medlock, Ed Gentry, Bobby Trippe and Drew Ballinger-on a weekend canoe trip in the Cahulawassee River in northern Georgia, which is soon threatened by the construction of a dam.ĭeliverance is considered a classic work of Southern Gothic literature, exploring themes of machismo, gender roles, and the changing nature of the American South in the 1970s. It was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film of the same name in 1972, starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox. Published in 1970, it is Dickey’s first novel and is considered by many to be his most famous work. Deliverance by James Dickey: Summary and Curiositiesĭeliverance by James Dickey: Summary and Curiositiesĭeliverance is a 1970 novel written by American poet and novelist James Dickey.
