Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 5-1-2019 CONFRONTING MASCULINITY: THE GEN X NOVEL (1984-2000) AND THE SENTIMENTAL MAN Robert E. Woolridge Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Woolridge, Robert E., "CONFRONTING MASCULINITY: THE GEN X NOVEL (1984-2000) AND THE SENTIMENTAL MAN" (2019). Dissertations. 1670. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/1670 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONFRONTING MASCULINITY: THE GEN X NOVEL (1984-2000) AND THE SENTIMENTAL MAN by Robert E. Woolridge B.S., Southern Illinois University, 1999 M.A., Southern Illinois University, 2002 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree Department of English in the Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale May 2019 Copyright by Robert E. Woolridge, 2019 All Rights Reserved DISSERTATION APPROVAL CONFRONTING MASCULINITY: THE GEN X NOVEL (1984-2000) AND THE SENTIMENTAL MAN by Robert E. Woolridge A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of English Approved by: Dr. Joseph Shapiro, Chair Dr. Edward Brunner Dr. Robert Fox Dr. Natasha Zaretsky Dr. George Boulukos Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale January 17, 2019 AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Robert E. Woolridge, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in English, presented on January 17, 2019, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: CONFRONTING MASCULINITY: THE GEN X NOVEL (1984-2000) AND THE SENTIMENTAL MAN MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Joseph Shapiro Experimental novels written from 1984-2000 by authors associated with Generation X collectively struggle with common sense notions of masculinity in their various decades at the end of the twentieth century. Relying on confessional, first-person narration, first novels written by white men stage a critical engagement of outdated patriarchal norms in an effort to produce a more progressive masculinity based on sentimentality. In the 1980s, McInerney and Ellis novels, Bright Lights, Big City and Less Than Zero chronicle the struggles of empty, yuppie men who cannot make connections with their peers due to their emotionally devoid lives. By the 1990s, Douglas Coupland proposes a new, sentimental masculinity with his protagonist Andy who narrates Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture . Andy creates sympathetic connections with his peers through the act of confessional storytelling. Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club does similar cultural work as Coupland’s novel by creating an anti-sentimental, nameless narrator so bereft of emotion that he creates a hypermasculine alter-ego and violent groups to avoid the emotional emptiness of his life. Finally, Dave Eggers’s A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000) produces the most progressive, evolved masculine narrator, Dave, who spends the entire novel coming to terms with the death of his parents while raising his brother as a son. The novels, in both content and form, become more complex and richer reflecting the development of their protagonists and their philosophical arguments for progressing into sentimental men. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am incredibly thankful for my committee’s willingness to support my project. Dr. Joseph Shapiro worked tirelessly and supported me when this dissertation seemed all but lost. Had it not been for his tenacity and compassion, I would not be finishing this degree. I am immensely appreciative of the mentoring and support Dr. Edward Brunner has offered me for over two decades. Without Dr. Brunner’s guidance and infinite support, I would not be the scholar or teacher that I am. These two men changed my life; I will never forget that. I thank Dr. Bob Fox and Dr. Natasha Zaretsky for their time and effort. During the defense, both pointed out important areas for revision and pointed me towards future scholarship. This committee was amazing to work with and supported me every step of the way. My family and friends too deserve thanks for all the support along this journey. Diana Woolridge, Don Woolridge, and Stefanie Diers cheered me on and picked me up when I struggled to complete this dissertation. The rest of my extended family served as an important source of strength and hope over the long years, as well. I am eternally grateful. Jamie Copple and Jason Brown continually asked questions and told me, “you got this” even when I refused to believe it. So many friends helped, but you two were my pillars of strength. Also, Dr. Stacy Nicklow, Dr. Maggie Morris Davis, Dr. Tony M. Vinci, and Dr. Katrina Bell helped prove to me that I could do this. I am beyond thankful. Jennifer Woolridge and Holden Ray Vedder Woolridge sacrificed so much for me to arrive at this moment. This dissertation would not be possible without you two. Lastly, I want to thank Audrey Rae Weiss…for everything… ii DEDICATION This project is dedicated to two people I lost along the way. Their lives and deaths touched me deeply and inspired me in ways they could never imagine. William Gregg Goodman (July 11, 1951-July 22, 2014) was a dear friend and proved to me that men can evolve and become better versions of ourselves. I miss you dearly. My fallen Gen Xer, Eric Wayne Houser (August 21, 1976-February 18, 2014), I cannot express the loss and pain I carry. I love you brother; you are with me always. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii CHAPTERS CHAPTER 1 – Introduction.................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2 – Generation X Novels of the 1980s: Insincerity in the City ......................16 CHAPTER 3 – Coupland’s Generation X and Escaping the Cosmopolitan Trap……….56 CHAPTER 4 – Palahniuk’s Fight Club : Masculine Rage as Residual Ideology……......95 CHAPTER 5 – Egger’s A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: The Creation of the Sentimental Generation X Male ...................................................131 CHAPTER 6 – Epilogue………………………………………………………………..183 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................191 VITA ..........................................................................................................................................199 iv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION I. I Smoke My Camel Straights and I Ride My Own Melt… A central character in the 1994 Generation X film Reality Bites is twentysomething Troy Dyer, a male character who suffers (dire) anxiety about work, his relationships with women, his broken family, and his future. These anxieties manifest in his daily life and cause serious problems. As a philosophy-major dropout, he works a menial job at a newsstand only to be fired for stealing a Snickers bar he believes is owed to him, an episode that illustrates his apathy toward diminished work opportunities. His true passions are music and his unrequited love for the female protagonist, Lelaina, but he is unable to pursue either seriously due to his fear of committing to anyone or anything. Instead, he professes that life is meaningless: “There’s no point to any of this,” he explains to Lelaina. “It’s just a … random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near-escapes.” A fear of abandonment inherited from his absentee father leads Troy to reject emotional connection before he can be rejected. In a climactic scene, Lelaina confronts Troy (and the random woman he has brought home) about his self-inflicted stagnation: Don’t just dick around at the same coffee house for five years. Don’t dick around with her or with me. I mean, try at something for once in your life. Do something about it, but you know what? You better do it now, and you better do it fast, because the world doesn’t owe you any favors. And whether you know it or not, you are on the inside track to Loserville, U.S.A., just like [your father]. This scene shows a woman speaking truth to an emotionally stunted Generation X man and forcing him to face the repressed pain in his life. Moreover, Lelaina goes straight to the heart of Troy’s conflict by attacking his sense of entitlement and by arguing that Troy’s troubles and 1 failures stem from his unknowingly following his father’s path. Lelaina, I’d suggest, also critiques early-twentieth-century patriarchal masculinity. Later in the film, Troy returns from his father’s funeral and finally admits he is in love with Lelaina. Once free of his father and the ideological control he represents, Troy is able to become a new, emotionally open man. The film ends with the two embarking on an emotionally open relationship full of hope and promise. In the chapters to follow, my concern will be on a cluster of Generation X novels—not films—and their