Existentialist engagement in Wallace, Eggers and Foer
Subtitle: a philosophical analysis of contemporary American literature
By: Allard den Dulk
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, An imprint of Bloomsberry Publishing, Inc
Published: 2015
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 301
ISBN-13: 9781628923315; 9781628923339; 9781628923346
Subjects: American fiction; History and criticism; Criticism and interpretation; Existentialism in literature; Literature; Philosophy; Postmodernism (Literature); Irony in literature; LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General; LITERARY CRITICISM / General; LITERARY CRITICISM / Semiotics & Theory
Description: "The novels of David Foster Wallace, Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer are increasingly regarded as representing a new trend, an 'aesthetic sea change' in contemporary American fiction. 'Post-postmodernism' and 'New Sincerity' are just two of the labels that have been attached to this trend. But what do these labels mean? What characterizes and connects these novels? Dulk shows that the connection between these works lies in their shared philosophical dimension. On the one hand, they portray excessive self-reflection and endless irony as the two main problems of contemporary Western life. On the other hand, the novels embody an attempt to overcome these problems: sincerity, reality-commitment and community are portrayed as the virtues needed to achieve a meaningful life. This shared philosophical dimension is analyzed by viewing the novels in light of the existentialist philosophies of Soren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Albert Camus"--

"A philosophical analysis of existentialist themes in the fiction of Wallace, Eggers and Foer"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-287) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note:; title: List of Abbreviations AcknowledgmentsForeword Introduction 1. Aims and Method 2. An 'Aesthetic Sea-Change' in American Literature 3. Outline of Primary Literary Works 4. Heuristic Perspectives 5. Outline of the Study PART I PROBLEMS Chapter 1 - Hyperreflexivity Introduction 1. Factors of Heightened Contemporary Reflexivity 2. Sartre's View of Consciousness and Self-Reflection 3. The Alienation of Self-Reflection Conclusion Chapter 2 - Endless Irony Introduction 1. Irony as an Attitude towards Existence 2. Irony as Negative Independence3. Endless 'Aesthetic' Irony 4. Meta-Irony Conclusion PROBLEMATIC FICTIONChapter 3 - Postmodernist Metafiction: John Barth Introduction 1. Metafiction 2. Deconstruction and Metafiction Conclusion Chapter 4 - Postmodernist Minimalism: Bret Easton Ellis Introduction 1. General Comparison 2. Four Aspects of the Escalation of Ironic-Aesthetic Existence 3. A Continuation of Reflexive Irony Conclusion PART II ENGAGED FICTIONChapter 5 - Wittgenstein and Wallace: The Meaning of Fiction Introduction 1. Wittgenstein: The Temptation of Essences 2. Wittgenstein: The Irrelevance of Essences 3. The Virtues of the Late-Wittgensteinian Language View 4. A Late-Wittgensteinian View of Fiction Conclusion ENGAGEMENTChapter 6 - Sincerity Introduction 1. Sincerity vs. Authenticity 2. Sincerity: A Sartrean, Existentialist Ideal 3. Cases of Sincerity: The Fiction of Wallace, Eggers and Foer Conclusion Chapter 7 - Reality-Commitment Introduction 1. The Realization of Choice: Freedom, Despair, Urgency 2. The Reality of the Self as Gift and Task 3. Reality as Repetition Conclusion Chapter 8 - Community Introduction 1. Absurdity and Rebellion: Two Main Themes of Camus's Thought 2. The Role of the Other: Kierkegaard and Sartre vs. Camus 3. Discovering the Other: Wallace, Eggers and Foer 4. Towards a Dialogic Community of Meaning Conclusion Concluding Remarks 1. Literature and Philosophy 2. Existentialist Engagement 3. Love Me Till My Heart Stops? Works Cited.