Introspection In Three Post-9/11Novels

The post-9/11novels came out after the September11attacks took place. Somenovelists have tackled the events of that September day head on; others have used theepisode as a spur to look at the Western world shaken out of its complacency. It wasalready obvious that the purpose of the post-9/11novel would not be to tell us whathappened on that day. Their purpose, rather, would be to tell us what9/11means.In this thesis, three post-911novels are selected and discussed, namely Terrorist byJohn Updike, Netherland by Joseph O’Neill and The Echo Maker by Richard Powers. Theyprovide the inspections concerning the American people and society from different angles.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One is a brief introduction to JohnUpdike, Joseph O’Neill and Richard Powers and their careers, with literature review of thethree post-9/11novels Terrorist, Netherland and The Echo Maker. Chapter Two deals withthe crisis of belief in Terrorist from the aspects of indulgence in consumption,entanglement in affairs and rejection of belief. It also suggests that misunderstandingbetween different religious groups can be a part of the reason why terrorist attacks happenand is yet to be avoided. Chapter Three discusses the difficulty in identity in Netherland.Identity is closely related to one’s cultural memory and cultural approval. Through thediscussion on identity, it reveals O’Neill’s criticism on the narrow mindedness of someAmerican people and his negative evaluation of the US government and the anti-terroristwar. Chapter Four makes an analysis of the dissolution of self in The Echo Maker. Changesin life lead to the confusion about real self and doubt about everything in life. After the9/11attacks, people in the United States may also be seeing a false self of America. Powersimplies his call for people to find the real nature of this country. Chapter Five draws theconclusion that despites different emphases of the three post-9/11novels, they all attemptto discover the ills of the American people and American society—pursuing pleasureselfishly, doing harm to others due to narrow attitudes, losing the original dream numbly—they also reveal the negative impact of these ills on the terrorist attacks and theanti-terrorist war.