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Writing the Precarious Self in Falling Man

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2020

Aliette Ventéjoux
Aliette Ventéjoux*
Affiliation:
Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas, 92, rue d’Assas, 75006Paris, France. Email: aliette.ventejoux@u-paris2.fr
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Abstract

The terrorist attacks on American soil of 11 September 2001 have reminded people how easily they can be submitted to the will of the other. This article will analyse how literature, and more particularly post-9/11 literature, deals with a new world order where the self seems to have become subjected to terrorism, being today its potential victim rather than a subject. More precisely, how have American novelists dealt with the demise of the sovereign self after the attacks of 11 September 2001 and what is the role played by memory? Focusing on Falling Man (2007) by Don DeLillo, this article will demonstrate the importance of art and literature to fight against the demise of the sovereign self.

Type
Articles
Information
European Review , Volume 29 , Issue 3: Literature in Times of Crisis and Vulnerability , June 2021 , pp. 370 - 382
Copyright
© 2020 Academia Europaea

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