Citation

Laist R. Critique Stud. Contemp. Fiction 2010; 51(3): 257-275.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010)

DOI

10.1080/00111610903379966

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Although it is set in April of 2000, Cosmopolis is Don DeLillo's first post-9/11 novel. DeLillo presents the novel's protagonist, Eric Packer, as a kind of third Twin Tower, a monolithic symbol of global economic hegemony. The commentaries on 9/11 by Jean Baudrillard and Paul Virilio suggest a theoretical context for understanding the manner in which DeLillo portrays Eric's psychological collapse and the collapse of the World Trade Center as eerie analogues of one another, both indicating suicidal tendencies in the heart of homo technologicus. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Language: en

Keywords

suicide; terrorism; 9/11; Baudrillard; Cosmopolis; DeLillo; Virilio