Modernizing the National Myth: Reconfiguring American Folk Ideas in Post-9/11 Fiction

Abstract

The American national myth, i.e., American exceptionalism, stems from the folk ideas within the American sociocultural imaginary. These ideas are interconnected, each relying on the others for their existence, and cannot be studied in isolation, as they reinforce each other retrospectively. The paper aims to update four folk ideas, namely America as a Land of Opportunity, All Men are Created Equal, God-Chosen Nation, and American Innocence, by examining their status in the selected post-9/11 fiction, i.e., Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Hamill’s Forever. Despite efforts by writers to debunk and deconstruct them throughout American history, these folk ideas remain pervasive in cultural production. Early American writers recognized the power of these mythical folk ideas and used them during difficult times to rally support and boost the morale of the nation. This study focuses on how folk ideas appear in post-9/11 fiction, with a view to updating their relevance after the terrorist attacks. The main argument is how writers used folk ideas during the national crisis in post-9/11 fiction to support, rally, and encourage the country. The paper subscribes to the arguments of Judith Butler and Hamid Dabashi for the triangulation of the theoretical framework and uses cultural textual analysis as the methodology for analysis. The study shows that as long as the national myth is driven by exceptionalist rhetoric, it cannot be neutralized. It tends to adapt to the changing socio-cultural and geopolitical contexts, finding ways to revive itself after periods of decline.