Existentialist Engagement in Wallace, Eggers and Foer A Philosophical Analysis of Contemporary American Literature

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 literature. '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?

Den 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 Søren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Albert Camus.

List of Abbreviations

Acknowledgments

Foreword

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 Independence
3. Endless 'Aesthetic' Irony
4. Meta-Irony
Conclusion

PROBLEMATIC FICTION

Chapter 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 FICTION

Chapter 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

ENGAGEMENT

Chapter 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

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