Don DeLillo's "Underworld": The artful reality of simulacra

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
• 1.1 Some Evidence of Don DeLillo's soon-to-be Canonical Status within the Academy
• 1.2 Getting in Touch with Don DeLillo
• 1.3 Why Underworld?
• 1.4 Beyond the 20th Century: Don DeLillo and Avant-Pop
• 2. Turning History into Art: Underworld's Politics and Aesthetics Part I
• 2.0 Some Preliminary Remarks
• 2.1 Don DeLillo and Postmodern Theories
• 2.2 Artists, Works of Art, and Media Technology in Underworld
• 2.2.1 The Modern-Postmodern Binarism
• 2.2.2 Underworld's Artist Figures
• 2.2.3 "Underworlds" en abyme: Films, Paintings and the Web in Underworld
• 3. Turning Waste into Art: Underworld's Politics and Aesthetics Part II
• 3.0 Some Preliminary Remarks
• 3.1 Containment
• 3.2 Recycling

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This thesis aims to analyze Don DeLillo's Underworld, exploring its artistic and political dimensions within the context of postmodern theory. It examines how DeLillo transforms historical events and cultural waste into art, focusing on the novel's engagement with media, technology, and the complexities of American society.

• The interplay between art and history in DeLillo's narrative.
• The representation of artists and their works as reflections of societal anxieties.
• The novel's exploration of themes of waste, recycling, and containment.
• DeLillo's engagement with postmodern concepts and theories.
• The role of media and technology in shaping perception and reality.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

1. Introduction: This introductory chapter establishes Don DeLillo's growing canonical status within academia, citing awards and critical attention. It highlights the relevance of Underworld, particularly in light of the September 11th attacks, connecting the novel's themes of late capitalism, terrorism, and media manipulation to contemporary events. The chapter then provides background on DeLillo's career, tracing his development from early short stories to his current position as a leading contemporary American author.

2. Turning History into Art: Underworld's Politics and Aesthetics Part I: This chapter delves into DeLillo's engagement with postmodern theories, analyzing how the novel utilizes artistic figures and their creations to explore the complexities of history and the media's role in shaping its representation. It examines various "artist figures" within Underworld—including J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Henry Gilkey, Russ Hodges, Lenny Bruce, Ismael Munoz, and Klara Sax—and their respective artistic practices as metaphors for broader societal and political dynamics. Further, the chapter analyzes the use of films, paintings (such as Brueghel's Triumph of Death and Whistler's Arrangement in Gray and Black), and the World Wide Web as "underworlds" mirroring interconnectedness and the novel's themes.

3. Turning Waste into Art: Underworld's Politics and Aesthetics Part II: This section investigates DeLillo's handling of themes of waste and recycling both within the narrative structure of Underworld and thematically. The chapter examines how DeLillo "recycles" his own previous works and those of other novelists, demonstrating a process of artistic reuse and recontextualization. It analyzes the concepts of containment and recycling as metaphors for societal structures and processes, exploring how these themes relate to the novel's broader concerns with history, memory, and the American experience.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

Don DeLillo, Underworld, Postmodernism, Late Capitalism, Media, Terrorism, Art, History, Waste, Recycling, Containment, American Culture, Postmodern Subjectivity, Media Representation.

Don DeLillo's Underworld: A Comprehensive Analysis - FAQ

What is the purpose of this document?

This document provides a comprehensive preview of a thesis analyzing Don DeLillo's novel Underworld. It includes the table of contents, objectives and key themes, chapter summaries, and keywords. The information is intended for academic use, facilitating the analysis of themes within the novel in a structured and professional manner.

What are the main themes explored in the thesis?

The thesis analyzes the artistic and political dimensions of Underworld within the context of postmodern theory. Key themes include the interplay between art and history, the representation of artists and their works as reflections of societal anxieties, the exploration of waste, recycling, and containment, DeLillo's engagement with postmodern concepts, and the role of media and technology in shaping perception and reality.

What is the structure of the thesis?

The thesis is structured into three main chapters. Chapter 1 provides an introduction, establishing DeLillo's canonical status and the relevance of Underworld. Chapter 2 ("Turning History into Art") examines DeLillo's engagement with postmodern theories and analyzes the novel's use of artistic figures and media to explore the complexities of history. Chapter 3 ("Turning Waste into Art") investigates DeLillo's handling of themes of waste and recycling, interpreting them as metaphors for societal structures and processes.

Which specific aspects of Underworld are analyzed in detail?

The analysis delves into the novel's representation of various "artist figures" (e.g., J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Henry Gilkey, Russ Hodges, Lenny Bruce, Ismael Munoz, and Klara Sax) and their artistic practices as metaphors for societal and political dynamics. It also examines the use of films, paintings (such as Brueghel's Triumph of Death and Whistler's Arrangement in Gray and Black), and the World Wide Web as "underworlds" reflecting interconnectedness and the novel's themes. The analysis further explores how DeLillo "recycles" his own previous works and those of other novelists as a process of artistic reuse and recontextualization.

What are the key concepts and theories used in the analysis?

The analysis utilizes postmodern theory to understand DeLillo's artistic and political strategies. Key concepts include postmodernism, late capitalism, media representation, terrorism, the relationship between art and history, and the themes of waste, recycling, and containment within the context of American culture and postmodern subjectivity.

What are the keywords associated with this thesis?

The keywords associated with this thesis include: Don DeLillo, Underworld, Postmodernism, Late Capitalism, Media, Terrorism, Art, History, Waste, Recycling, Containment, American Culture, Postmodern Subjectivity, and Media Representation.

For whom is this document intended?

This document is intended for academic use, providing a structured overview to facilitate the analysis of themes in Don DeLillo's Underworld in a professional and scholarly manner.