Review Paper On Shifting Paradigms in Cultural Fabric of America: An analysis of the impact and aftermath of 9/11 in The Reluctant Fundamentalist, The Emperor’s Children, and Falling Man

Abstract

Abstract

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 were a life-changing experience for everyone who witnessed them, irrespective of they had impacted the lives of American people  profoundly or less profound . The chain of events had a tremendous impact on the religious, cultural and psychological aspects of  individuals, and a community as a whole. The event paved the way for the emergence of a new genre of literature that encompassed the trauma and sufferings of people affected by the attack. This paper takes into consideration the various cultural shifts followed by the emotional healing of victims of the attack. The primary aim of the study is to analyze the impact and aftermath of 9/11 on the individual psyche of people and on the collective trauma. To analyze these aspects, the paper considers the following works- Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), Claire Messud’s The Emperor’s Children (2006) and Don DeLillo’s Falling Man (2007). The paper concludes that the attacks of 9/11 introduced a set of modified beliefs against the Islamic community and two different kinds of experiences were drawn from the analysis.The first regards the suffering of the white people in the American society after the attacks ,and the second is about the suffering of Muslims immigrants whom persecuted by the white American ,due to the emotional reaction aftermath these attacks.