Conjuring September 11, 2001: Midwest Narratives in the Time of Death

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Jonathon M. Josten for the degree of Master of Arts in English presented on May 12, 2015. Title: Conjuring September 11, 2001: Midwest Narratives in the Time of Death Abstract approved: ______________________________________________________ Raymond J. Malewitz Over the past fourteen years since the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Americans of varied political persuasions have continually identified the day as a defining moment in the history of the nation, which caused a rupture in the cultural rhythm and psyche. This sensibility is present in many narratives that considered the uniqueness of the day, with the majority of these set in New York City. However, for most Americans, the attacks were experienced in a non-local manner mediated through various technologies as well as reactionary policies of the Bush administration and retrospective accounts that followed from critics and authors. Given the disparity between narratives that surround eye-witness of the event and those perceived from afar, this thesis attempts to explore and reconcile these geographical and psychological differences by examining fictive works often described as “September 11”, which are set in the Midwest. Through this investigation of place, technologies, and difference, we can trace the development of the cultural memory of these events from catastrophe to commemoration as the analysis moves through nationalism, terrorism, and what might be defined as heartland American conservatism. Ultimately, I argue that though September 11 functioned as a catastrophic event, Americans moved to restore normalcy shortly after the attacks. That is not to say that Americans forgot September 11; instead, pre- September 11 normalcy coexisted within post- September 11 uncertainty. To support this argument, this thesis examines four texts that offer several different perspectives on the event, from the incident itself to the ways in which the attack was ordered. These pieces are, respectively, David Foster Wallace’s non- fiction essay “The View from Mrs. Thompson’s”, Jonathan Franzen’s novel Freedom, and Richard Powers’ novel The Echo Maker. Despite their differing subject matter and approaches, each of these works ultimately rejects the common notion that September 11 caused an irrevocable break in the cultural rhythm of American ideology in the second half of the twentieth century. If we select Midwestern narratives as representative of September 11 experience, then instead of unique commemoration, we find an American culture of misidentification. ©Copyright by Jonathon M. Josten May 12, 2015 All Rights Reserved Conjuring September 11, 2001: Midwest Narratives in the Time of Death by Jonathon M. Josten A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Presented May 12, 2015 Commencement June 2015 Master of Arts thesis of Jonathon M. Josten presented on May 12, 2015 APPROVED: Major Professor, representing English Director of the School of Writing, Literature and Film Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. Jonathon M. Josten, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my committee members Dr. Jonathan Katz and Dr. Gilad Elbom for serving on my committee with enthusiasm. Thank you to Dr. Neil Davison for our spontaneous chats in the halls of Moreland Hall and our fantastic conversation late in the process, a conversation that assisted my completion of this project greatly both in morale and in content. Finally, I wish to thank my lead advisor, Dr. Raymond Malewitz, for his enthusiasm and willingness to field questions about academic subjects as well as work-life balance, and whose supportive comments and nudges in certain directions helped me bring this thesis to life. Thank you to the tremendous faculty at the School of Writing, Literature, and Film, especially to the faculty I took classes with: Dr. Lisa Ede, Dr. Peter Betjemann, Dr. David Robinson, Dr. Chris Anderson, Dr. Evan Gottlieb, Dr. Rebecca Olson and Dr. Lily Sheehan. Additionally, thank you to Aaron Schultz for fulfilling many roles over the two years at OSU, and know that I deeply appreciate our conversations. Thank you to my fellow graduate students at OSU, whether MA or MFA, each of you helped create the vibrant community at SWLF. I would also like to thank my parents, David and Patricia Josten, for their encouragement and support throughout this process. You two inspire me to push further than I did today and no matter what the goal is if you chase it, you will achieve it. Thank you to my brothers Kelley and Nick for their relentless faith that I can accomplish whatever I begin and for sending clever texts that kept me (relatively) sane throughout this process. Lastly, thank you to my two leading ladies, my daughter Millie and my wife Lillian, for their unconditional love and support. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction: Ground Zero to Ground 899: Wallace and “The View”. ................. ……1 Chapter 1: A View from Somewhere: Freedom and Experience in the Time of Death…15 Chapter 2: Migratory Feeling: September 11, 2001 and Richard Powers’ The Echo Maker ............................................................................................................ 32 Conclusion: ................................................................................................................. 50 Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 53 This thesis is dedicated to Lillian Josten. 1 Introduction Ground Zero to Ground 899: David Foster Wallace and September 11, 2001 For the past fourteen years, people of varied political aims have defined September 11, 2001 as an unnatural and unique event, despite the common notion that the attacks seemed familiar. According to Daniel Heischman, “Watching the two planes crash into tall skyscrapers, then seeing those towers of commerce and enterprise collapse, I found myself pulled in two different directions. I could not imagine that such things were happening; it was all like a very bad dream. However, the events felt eerily similar in some small way.”1 Likewise, as Jürgen Habermas claims, “Perhaps September 11 could be called the first world-historical event in a strict sense: the impact, the explosion, the slow collapse – all of which was unfortunately no longer Hollywood but a horrific reality – literally unfolded before the eyes of a global public.”2 The attacks became linked to one location but were observed by local and non-local viewers. It is unsurprising that authors and critics of the event focus on Manhattan or consider this a necessary place to begin, but for many people, the attacks have always been mediated through camera lenses. At first glance, it would seem true that only those geographically separate from the attacks would have the events mediated through camera lenses; however, those within New York City experienced the attacks similarly to those outside the city as Ingrid Sischy describes in “The Triumph of the Still”: Like many others in downtown New York, I saw it with all my own eyes – my office window, 20 blocks north, is like a camera lens pointing toward the World Trade Center site. When the first tower was hit, it seemed unconceivable that such a thing could 1 Heischman, “The Uncanniness of September 11”, 197. 2 Habermas, The Divided West, 7. 2 happen – and impossible that the other tower could be hit. It was. There was no way I could imagine the buildings would come down. They did. I saw the glass and metal fill the sky, and the people jumping…After all, this was a plot familiar from so many Hollywood movies, which now looked tame compared with what I was witnessing through my windows.3 In essence, Sischy’s statement operates as a simile; however, the experience – a type of eye- witnessing – suggests that it was framed in a similar manner to the television coverage. That is why the viewer witnesses the attacks and is close enough to see material ‘fill the sky’, but the importance placed on those geographically close to the attacks – twenty blocks away from the attacks – loses its privilege: the experience is similar to those elsewhere in the United States. Sischy resides in Manhattan, but her view becomes comparable to the television coverage in that no matter where a person viewed the attacks it was impossible to gather a complete account of the event. Sischy’s testimony provides a type of eye-witnessing that aligns itself with Slavoj Žižek’s perspective, namely the mention of Hollywood and effect of footage. Žižek argues in Welcome to the Desert of the Real: “While the number of victims – 3,000 – is repeated all the time, it is surprising how little of the carnage we see – no dismembered bodies, no blood, no desperate faces of dying people.”4 Sischy and Žižek imply a distinction between those who experienced the attacks from a street view and from a distanced view. Nonetheless, the attacks were spun onto a crime against all Americans and not simply New York City, which in turn compelled many to provide testimony of the attacks regardless of being eye-witness or not. Whereas eye-witness testimony became fairly typical, David Foster Wallace’s essay, “The View from Mrs. Thompson’s” became a September 11 testimony despite being set in the 3 Sischy,

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