Jacob's Room

The novel is an examination of character development and the meaning of a life by means of a series of brief impressions and conversations, stream of consciousness, internal monologue, and Jacob's letters to his mother. In zealous pursuit of classicism, Jacob studies the ancients at Cambridge and travels to Greece. He either idealizes or ignores the women who admire him. At the end of the novel all that remains of Jacob's life are scattered objects in an abandoned room.