A Study On The Ethical Identities Of The Characters In Falling Man

As an award-winning post-modern American novelist, Don DeLillo has a unique voice in America. The subjects in his works are diverse, covering from mass media, nuclear war, performance art, the Cold War to global terrorism and so on. While most of DeLillo’s previous writing focuses on broader concepts of post-modernity, Falling Man is more intimate, focusing on the day-to-day struggle of an American couple as they grapple with the trauma of September 11th.This thesis applies ethical literary criticism to analyze different ethical choices Keith and Lianne make after 9/11 when confronted with family and social responsibilities, in an attempt to examine DeLillo’s reflections on 9/11 as well as perceive his humanistic concerns. "Ethical identities" in family, society and nature are the key points based on which Lianne and Keith are defined as the subject of rationality and irrationality.This thesis consists of Introduction, three chapters and Conclusion. Introduction mainly introduces the author DeLillo, the main plot of Falling Man and his other works. The first chapter is the literature review on the previous research of his works and gives a brief introduction to the theoretic basis of this thesis:ethical literary criticism. The second chapter discusses Lianne’s ethical identity. Guided by the rational will, all of her behaviors comply with her roles in family, society and nature. She is the embodiment of rationality who has been rescued in the end. Chapter Three analyzes Keith’s ethical identity. Haunted by the nightmarish experience of 9/11 and controlled by irrational will, he steers away from the responsibilities he should take and has made irrational ethical choices that lead to his displacement of identities. He is the subject of irrationality who has lost himself and becomes the fallen. Different ethical choices made by Lianne and Keith under different ethical identities are restated in Conclusion and together with the description of "counter-narrative", this thesis aims to probe into DeLillo’s humanistic concerns.