I. Introduction
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th 2001 (9/11 hereafter), much has been said and written about the spectacular, almost incredible crime, which could be witnessed by large parts of the world’s population live on television. In order to be able to cope with the events and understand what happened on that day in September 2001, many works of fiction and non-fiction, that deal with the events of the attacks, have been created. (...) Now that almost nine years have passed since the day when the planes hit the World Trade Center and the buildings collapsed, the incidents and the aftermath can be viewed from a certain distance and much of the work, that was written and created in order to be able to cope with the events, offers itself for an analysis. The novel Surveillance (2006) by Jonathan Raban is part of the literature that deals with the aftermath of 9/11. However, unlike most of the literature that is focused on this situation and this period of time, the actual attacks do not play much of a role and (apart from one exception on page 136) remain almost unmentioned throughout the novel. Surveillance rather focuses on the years after the attacks and the prevailing anxious atmosphere in the American society of that time. The novel depicts the life of a fictional character named Lucy Bengstrom and her daughter in Seattle in the years after 9/11. The society which Lucy lives in, is coined by an atmosphere of menace, uncertainty and surveillance, much of which is based on the political decisions that followed 9/11. In its first part, this seminar paper discusses the topic of surveillance itself. It will try to answer how surveillance became such a present topic in today’s media and briefly debate the controversy by which it is surrounded. Secondly, this seminar paper analyses the writing style of Jonathan Raban’s Surveillance and the conclusions that can be drawn from it concerning the topic of surveillance. The third part focuses on the content of Jonathan Raban’s novel Surveillance. It analyses Jonathan Raban’s more direct statements and conclusions concerning the topic of surveillance.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- I. Introduction.
- II. The author
- III. The topic of surveillance.
- III.a. What does surveillance conceptually mean?
- III.b. Surveillance and the Bush-administration: The USA PATRIOT Act
- III.c. Reasons apart from 9/11 for increased surveillance in our time...
- III.c.1. The World Wide Web.
- III.c.2. Globalisation and the "clash of cultures".
- III.d. Surveillance - pro and contra
- IV. The criticism of surveillance in connection with the novel's writing style.
- IV.a. The setting.
- IV.b. The narrator's point of view.
- IV.c. The structure of the plot...
- V. The critcism of surveillance in connection with the novel's content....
- V.a. Lucy and surveillance
- V.b. Tad and surveillance
- V.c. August and surveillance
- V.d. Charles O. and surveillance
- V.e. Alida and surveillance…........
- V.f. Finn and surveillance..
- VI. Summary
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This seminar paper aims to analyze Jonathan Raban's novel Surveillance and its critique of surveillance in American society following the 9/11 attacks. It focuses on the novel's writing style, its narrative structure, and its direct statements concerning surveillance.
- The impact of the 9/11 attacks on American society and the subsequent rise of surveillance
- The author's personal experiences and their influence on the novel's themes
- The concept of surveillance and its various perspectives
- The portrayal of surveillance in the novel's setting, characters, and plot
- The novel's criticism of the increasing surveillance in the aftermath of 9/11
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction delves into the context of 9/11 and its impact on literature, highlighting the novel's focus on the post-attack anxieties within American society. The author's biography, particularly his move to Seattle and his experiences in America, are presented as a relevant backdrop to the novel's themes.
The chapter on surveillance explores the concept of surveillance itself, from its historical associations with totalitarian regimes to its increasing relevance in the contemporary world. The chapter examines the Bush administration's decisions concerning increased surveillance in the aftermath of 9/11, particularly the USA PATRIOT Act. It also addresses factors other than 9/11 that have contributed to the prevalence of surveillance, such as the World Wide Web and globalization.
The next chapter analyzes the novel's writing style and its relationship to the topic of surveillance. It delves into the novel's setting, the narrator's point of view, and the structure of the plot, examining how these elements contribute to the portrayal of surveillance.
The final section focuses on the novel's content and its direct statements about surveillance. It examines the ways in which surveillance affects the lives of the various characters, including Lucy, Tad, August, Charles O., Alida, and Finn. The chapter provides insights into the novel's criticism of the surveillance practices and the anxieties they evoke.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The primary themes and concepts explored in the seminar paper revolve around surveillance, its impact on American society after 9/11, and its portrayal in Jonathan Raban's novel Surveillance. The paper focuses on the USA PATRIOT Act, the anxieties of the post-9/11 era, and the different perspectives on the concept of surveillance, both from a theoretical and a personal perspective.
- Quote paper
- B.A: Uwe Mehlbaum (Author), 2010, Jonathan Raban's Novel "Surveillance" and Its Criticism of Surveillance in the American Society After 9/11, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/163941
