Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Dimino, Andrea

Keywords

9/11, Terrorism, Othering, Literature

Area of Concentration

English

Abstract

This thesis applies Julia Kristeva's theory of abjection to historical and fictional terrorists in post-9/11 American literature and television. The abject, according to her, is the horror one feels when confronted by anything that threatens the boundaries between self and other. The thesis explores the environmental and psychological conflicts and “othering” these individuals face before turning to terrorism, as well as why terrorism simultaneously fascinates and repulses the general public. The first chapter examines the psychology of Mohamed Atta in Jarett Kobek’s novel ATTA (2011), Don DeLillo’s novel Falling Man (2007), and Martin Amis’s short story “The Last Days of Muhammad Atta” (2006). For the novels, I argue that Atta, who came of age during Egypt’s modernization period, becomes radicalized in Germany in order to destroy the Westernized Other within himself that he loathes; for the short story, I explore how Amis, the narrator, tears down a barrier between himself and his subject by advocating the theory that boredom engenders terrorism. This notion of the “fragile” self links with the second chapter, which shifts the focus to Patricia Hearst in Susan Choi’s American Woman (2004) and Christopher Sorrentino’s Trance (2005). The chapter expounds on the abjection of brainwashing, and how outside influences can corrupt one’s selfhood and autonomy. In Trance, for instance, Tania declares herself a guerilla fighter to the SLA members, but her internal dialogue reveals that she grapples with who she truly is. Finally, the third chapter discusses Arabs and Muslims as the abject in the Showtime television series Sleeper Cell (2005-2006) and Homeland (2011-present). Both shows attempt to dismantle stereotypes by portraying non-Arab terrorists, but they still depict Muslim Arabs as the initial contaminant in the American world. The two series also showcase Arab and/or Muslim counter-terrorists, but I argue that the continued association in the media remains problematic. To conclude, I find that the historical and fictional terrorists in all of the works I discuss seek to destroy not only others but themselves. Their sense of self is tenuous, and by participating in an act bigger than them, they can take back control of their lives.

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