Abstract:
This thesis will examine the function of literary techniques in first Falling Man by Don DeLillo (2007) and then The Zero by Jess Walter (2006) and relate it to the classic trauma theory approach by Caruth and contemporary approaches of contextualisation. The manner in which literary devices reflect trauma symptoms will be discussed in this thesis. This analysis will be done through close reading and then this thesis will contextualise these findings within the circumstances and setting of 9/11, and the response of the then Bush administration and media. This thesis answers the question how literary techniques function in 9/11 trauma theory.
Key words: 9/11, trauma fiction, trauma theory, trauma, The Zero, Jess Walter, Falling Man, Don DeLillo
