| Moon, Jina. “Homonationalism and Heterosexual Racism in The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Falling Man.” Studies in English Language & Literature 49.3 (2023): 21-44. Tracing the representation of homonationalism and heterosexual racism in the two 9/11 novels, this essay argues that The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Falling Man illustrate and contribute to the post-9/11 American society’s adoption of plural sexuality in an effort to strengthen national and racial boundaries during a period of the national grief and international conflicts. This essay argues that Falling Man addresses the American condemnation of Muslims by describing their heterosexuality as licentious and deviant, queering their normative sexuality in the context of their religious and political tenets, while The Reluctant Fundamentalist critiques the orientalist and racist impulses superseding anti-homosocial feelings that in turn solidify a distinctive white nationalist narrative. This essay argues that Hamid and DeLillo challenge the perception of prototypical postcolonial or America-centered novels by superimposing sexual criminality onto the Other and by juxtaposing sexual racism with a Third World advocacy, utilizing The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Falling Man as a space for disruptive and ambivalent counter-narratives to 9/11 discourses. By examining The Reluctant Fundamentalist alongside Falling Man, this essay aims to expand our critical awareness of 9/11 discourse regarding shifting views on sexuality and to deepen our understanding of deterritorialized narratives. (Kumoh National Institute of Technology) |