Giles Goat-Boy

John Barth's 1966 novel follows George Giles, a boy raised by goats who comes to believe he is the Grand Tutor of a universe-sized university. The story turns Cold War ideology and existential heroism into a comic academic allegory.

The university is not merely a campus but a model of the entire cosmos and human society. Its students, administrators, and rival systems represent political and philosophical conflicts associated with the Cold War.

George Giles claims the role of Grand Tutor, a figure who is expected to guide the university. His claim is part of the novel's satire of religious authority, political leadership, and heroic self-mythology.

Giles Goat-Boy was published in 1966 as John Barth's fourth novel. It is one of his major American postmodern works, alongside novels such as The Sot-Weed Factor and later books including Chimera.