The Reconciliation In Colum Mccann's Let The Great World Spin

Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin is labeled as “the greatest 9/11 novel”.The novel deals with the disastrous event in elliptical ways.It unveils the conflicts in the post-9/11 American society by depicting the social turmoil in the 1970s' New York and offers reconciliation as a way of seeking hope and redemption.The thesis begins with analyzing the social and political background of the novel.The conflicts in the 1970s' New York and the post-9/11 society include the inner conflicts of the major characters,the interpersonal conflicts between friends and strangers,the intergroup conflicts between the black and the white communities,and the interstate conflicts between Americans and Vietnamese as well as Afghanistan.Then the thesis illustrates how McCann tries to achieve reconciliation by three complementary elements – forgiveness,justiceseeking and truth-telling.Characters try to acquire self-forgiveness and interpersonal forgiveness through remorse and remembering;the black community endeavors to acquire reconciliation with the white community by seeking justice;the Americans attempt to achieve reconciliation with Vietnam by seeking the truths.By exploring reconciliation from various aspects,the novel provides all parties in the post-9/11 society with a possible way towards reconciliation.Finally,the thesis points out the theme of the novel – to build a shared future from a divided past through reconciliation.The tightrope walker connects the past conflicts and the future reconciliation and the two “human towers” reveal the hope and redemption in the future,thus depicting a bright future for people in the post-9/11 society.Let the Great World Spin attempts to create a shared future through reconciliation in the face of past conflicts,and hence offers a possible way out of trauma for people in a post-9/11 society.By displacing the disastrous event of 9/11,the novel applies the possibilities of reconciliation to all social and historical contexts.Conflicts and violence are constant in all ethnic groups,classes,and nationalities,but hope and redemption can also persist throughout human history.