We all know about the terrorist attacks on the 11th of September 2001. They were unprecedented in their magnitude and aftermath. In the wake of the attacks a huge amount of personal essays, political opinions and testimonials were produced by several novelists, short story writers, script authors, playwrights and artists. The need of not only reconstruction by engineers and clean-up crews but also stories that try to make the survival meaningful was discovered. A lot of authors try to find a meaning in the silence after the disaster and try to create an index to measure the absences that define New York.
In this seminar paper one of the above-mentioned short stories with the title Random Notes – September 11, 2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground by Paul Auster with regard to public and private trauma will be analyzed.
In the New York Times Summary of Final Report the following has been written: “We call on the American people to remember how we all felt on 9/11, to remember not only the unspeakable horror but how we all came together as a nation – one nation.” (“Summary of the Final Report” 1)) where the American identity and the American sense of togetherness and the strong intention to defeat the terror and the trauma is shown. In this paper the aspects will be discussed, delimited and analyzed on the basis of Auster’s short story, published in Ulrich Bears 110 Stories on the 11th of September 2012, because he had an incredible gift of shaping the horrible disaster into words.
Before the 110 Stories had been edited by Ulrich Bear there was not any single collection that has recorded how New York writers of literary fiction, poetry and dramatic prose responded to the 11th of September. Ulrich Baer commented about his book:” The World Trade Center’s twin towers rose 110 stories high. Just as each of these 110 stories was filled with individuals of every stripe, the contributions in this volume represent the diverse […] texture of New York City.” (Baer 1) With regard to the horrific attacks also the American writer and director Paul Auster felt obligated to shape 9/11 into his own words, within his own story Random Notes – September 11, 2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground. In his story Auster never had the intention to create an index to measure the absences that newly defined New York or to give a simple answer for the question “Why?”, rather he had the impression to catch the moment of 9/11.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. General facts about Random Notes – September 11,2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground by Paul Auster
3. The history of trauma theory
4. Analysis of Random Notes – September 11, 2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground by Paul Auster in regard to private and public trauma
5. Conclusion
6. Sources
Objectives and Themes
The primary objective of this seminar paper is to analyze Paul Auster's short story "Random Notes – September 11, 2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground" specifically focusing on the representation and processing of both private and public trauma following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- The literary exploration of 9/11 in contemporary American fiction.
- Distinction and interaction between individual (private) and collective (public) trauma.
- The role of perception—seeing, hearing, and smelling—as a gateway to traumatic experience.
- Symbolism and narrative techniques used to convey the shock and aftermath of the disaster.
Excerpt from the Book
Analysis of Random Notes – September 11, 2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground by Paul Auster in regard to private and public trauma
To begin with the first part, Auster writes a lot about his family and his own impressions and experiences. Within the first part of his short story signs for a private trauma can be found. The story begins with a description of his daughter and how she takes the subway alone for the first time of her life. The postposition of the word alone is chosen to emphasize the situation of a little girl, who is alone in the subway. It causes fear, as well as curiosity to the reader, because you read the story with having the attacks of the 11th of September 2011 in your mind. In regard to a private trauma it shows Auster’s fear and his situation not to know if his daughter was safe or not. The next sentence She will not coming home tonight underlines the fear that can cause a trauma heavily. The reader presumes that something happened to the girl in regard to the attacks. The atmosphere is depressing here. In addition to that, the part of the next sentence The subways are no longer running in New York […] increases the suspense. Only when one reads the sentence till its end, one knows, that Auster’s daughter can stay at a friend’s house on the Upper West Side of New York.
At the beginning of the “Random Notes” Paul Auster describes how all the parents likely felt, when they heard what had happened and how hard it was for them to handle the inner tension and anxiety feelings until they contacted their children. If they got a connection to them and knew that everything was fine, they heave a sigh of relief, but if not this anxiety feelings could reach to a personal trauma. Because not everyone could be so happy like Auster whose daughter passed the World Trade Center two hours before the Twin Towers collapsed.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: This chapter provides an overview of the literary response to the 9/11 attacks and introduces the specific short story by Paul Auster that serves as the focus of the paper.
2. General facts about Random Notes – September 11,2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground by Paul Auster: This section details the content, narrative perspective, setting, and themes of the story, while providing biographical background on the author.
3. The history of trauma theory: This chapter defines the concepts of trauma, distinguishing between physical and psychological injuries, and explores the difference between private and public trauma.
4. Analysis of Random Notes – September 11, 2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground by Paul Auster in regard to private and public trauma: This section provides an in-depth reading of the story's two parts, analyzing how Auster utilizes sensory details and symbolism to reflect on the experience of 9/11.
5. Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the arguments, reiterating how individuals and the nation processed the events of 9/11 through shared experience and literature.
6. Sources: This section lists the academic references and literature utilized throughout the paper.
Keywords
Paul Auster, 9/11, Trauma Theory, Public Trauma, Private Trauma, Random Notes, Underground, American Literature, Collective Memory, Terrorism, Psychological Impact, Narrative Analysis, Symbolism, September 11, Disaster Fiction
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
This paper examines Paul Auster's short story "Random Notes – September 11, 2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground" to understand how he captures the transition from personal to collective trauma in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
What are the central themes of the work?
The central themes include the psychological effects of large-scale disaster, the search for meaning in the aftermath of trauma, and the role of storytelling as a coping mechanism.
What is the central research question?
The paper asks how Paul Auster uses his short story to represent and analyze the complex interplay between public shock and private suffering following the 9/11 attacks.
Which scientific methods are employed in this analysis?
The author uses a literary analysis approach, drawing upon trauma theory (including concepts by Caruth, LaCapra, and others) to interpret the narrative structure and symbolic elements of the text.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body breaks down the short story into its two constituent parts, analyzing the narrator's experiences, the sensory depictions of the event, and the shift from personal fear to collective public sentiment.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include 9/11, trauma theory, public/private trauma, Paul Auster, collective memory, and disaster literature.
How does the author interpret the symbol of the 'wire cable'?
The paper interprets Philippe Petit’s wire cable as a metaphorical bridge or 'rescue rope' that connects the beauty of the pre-9/11 world with the survivors' need to process the current state of grief and loss.
Why is the 'silence' in the subway significant?
The silence is interpreted as a metaphor for the collective shock and the momentary paralysis experienced by society immediately following the attacks, where no one could immediately articulate the scale of the tragedy.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2017, Analysis of "Random Notes – September 11, 2001, 4:00 P.M.; Underground" by Paul Auster with regard to public and private trauma, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/539810
