| Don De Lillo is widely regarded as one of the greatest living American novelists.In the past 60 years,De Lillo has written many works that have been acclaimed by both readers and critics,such as White Noise,Underground World,Libra.Falling Man is De Lillo’s 9/11 novel.The novel concerns the lives of the survivors of the 9/11 attacks and the effect these experiences on that day have on their existence in the post-9/11 era.Drawing on Sartrean Existentialism,this thesis examines the existential crisis faced by the characters of the novel,their freedom of choice,commitment to their own responsibilities and the completely different outcomes.The thesis is composed of five chapters.The first chapter first introduces the author Don De Lillo and his novel Falling Man,then conducts a literature review on the study of Falling Man both at home and abroad.It also summarizes the main content of Sartre’s theory of existentialism and explains the purpose and significance of this study.The second chapter discusses the sense of absurdity of the world as it was felt by the characters.The sense of absurdity is conveyed through De Lillo’s representation of the turmoil in American society,people’s absurd morality and collapsed beliefs after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.This absurd condition of existence inevitably leads to people’s alienation.The third chapter then turns to the theme of alienation in the novel.This theme is investigated in terms of two aspects: character’s self-alienation,and the alienation among characters.In Falling Man,the characters become alienated from through self-deception,for example,the protagonist Keith gets a sense of security by suppressing his true feelings.Alienation among people is mainly reflected in family members.The fourth chapter is concerned about the importance of free choice.It contends that if people want to escape from the absurd and alienated world,they must first make the right choice.In the novel,Keith refused to face reality,evaded his responsibilities as husband and father,and finally fell into endless emptiness.The terrorist Hammad gave up his choice and finally became a tool of war.Florence obtained her inner freedom by seeking help from others.Lianne chose to face the reality,assumed her responsibility as a mother,and embarked on the road to rebuild the meaning of life.Chapter five is the conclusion.It summarizes the existential themes of absurdity,alienation and free choice in Falling Man and comes to the conclusion that though existentialists believes that the world is absurd,life is miserable and the relationship between people is alienated,people can find the meaning of life through free choice.So this paper is an attempt to find the way out of absurdity and alienation,encourage people to face difficulties and take responsibility,so as to make positive choices for their lives. |
