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REPRESENTING THE TRAUMA OF 9/11 IN U.S. FICTION: JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER, DON DELILLO AND JESS WALTER

Santin, Bryan Michael
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1313527497

Abstract Details

2011, Master of Arts, Miami University, English.
This thesis explores the relationship between literary narratives and a more popular mythological American narrative that constructs the 9/11 attacks as a base for cultural regeneration, heroism, or redemption. Popular 9/11 narratives tend to offer a mythic foundation for militant belligerency masked as patriotic heroism and a deeply embedded notion of “regeneration through violence” outlined by Richard Slotkin. I contrast these popular narratives with novels by Jonathan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close), Don DeLillo (Falling Man) and Jess Walter (The Zero) that stress the complexity of trauma’s aftermath. The political and ethical value of these literary representations of trauma present nuanced characterological templates for acting-out and working through, which advocate critical self-recognition of post-9/11 American ideology and an emergence from political solipsism.
Tim Melley, PhD (Committee Chair)
Madelyn Detloff, PhD (Committee Member)
Martha Schoolman, PhD (Committee Member)
72 p.
Literature
9/11 literature; ideology; trauma; american mythology; regeneration through violence

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Santin, B. M. (2011). REPRESENTING THE TRAUMA OF 9/11 IN U.S. FICTION: JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER, DON DELILLO AND JESS WALTER [Master's thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1313527497

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Santin, Bryan. REPRESENTING THE TRAUMA OF 9/11 IN U.S. FICTION: JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER, DON DELILLO AND JESS WALTER. 2011. Miami University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1313527497.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Santin, Bryan. "REPRESENTING THE TRAUMA OF 9/11 IN U.S. FICTION: JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER, DON DELILLO AND JESS WALTER." Master's thesis, Miami University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1313527497

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.