Rhetorics of Religion in American Fiction: Faith, Fundamentalism, and Fanaticism in the Age of Terror

235 Pages·2016·2.466 MB·English

by  Liliana M. Naydan

Rhetorics of Religion in
American Fiction

Rhetorics of Religion in
American Fiction
Faith, Fundamentalism, and Fanaticism
in the Age of Terror
Liliana M. Naydan
PublishedbyBucknellUniversityPress
CopublishedbyTheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc.
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Copyright©2016byLilianaM.Naydan
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Names:Naydan,LilianaM.,author.
Title:RhetoricsofreligioninAmericanfiction:faith,fundamentalism,andfanaticismintheageof
terror/LilianaM.Naydan.
Othertitles:Faith,fundamentalism,andfanaticismintheageofterror.
Description:Lewisburg,Pennsylvania:BucknellUniversityPress;Lanham,Maryland:Copub-
lishedbyTheRowman&LittlefieldPub.Group,Inc.,2016.|Includesbibliographicalreferences
andindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2016008996(print)|LCCN2016020767(ebook)|ISBN9781611487435(cloth:
alk.paper)|ISBN9781611487442(Electronic)
Subjects:LCSH:Americanfiction--20thcentury--Historyandcriticism.|Americanfiction--21st
century--Historyandcriticism.|Religioninliterature.|Secularisminliterature.|Fundamental-
isminliterature.|Terrorisminliterature.|September11TerroristAttacks,2001--Influence.|
WaronTerrorism,2001-2009--Influence.|Religionandliterature--UnitedStates--History--20th
century.|Religionandliterature--UnitedStates--History--21stcentury.
Classification:LCCPS374.R47N392016(print)|LCCPS374.R47(ebook)|DDC813/.5409382--
dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016008996
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
ForRoxanneandMichaelNaydan,myparents;JimMcAsey,my
husband;andNinaNaydan-McAsey,mydaughter.

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction:TheParadoxofReligioninAmericaandAmerican
Literature 1
1 UncertainFaithforIslamicOthersafter9/11:Capitalistand
ReligiousFundamentalismsinMohsinHamid’sTheReluctant
FundamentalistandLailaHalaby’sOnceinaPromisedLand 25
2 BeyondReligious,Atheistic,andCapitalistFundamentalisms
forPost-9/11JewishOthers:TheRhetoricofArtinPhilip
Roth’sEverymanandExitGhost 55
3 TowardaPost-9/11RhetoricofCatholicMystery:Terrorand
FundamentalisminDonDeLillo’s“Baader-Meinhof”andPoint
Omega 85
4 EmergentVarietiesofReligiousExperiencefromaProtestant
Perspective:Fundamentalist,Fanatical,andHybridFaithin
JohnUpdike’s“VarietiesofReligiousExperience”andTerrorist 117
5 BetweenProtestantismandPantheism:Post-9/11Rhetoricsof
Nature,Science,andReligioninBarbaraKingsolver’sSmall
WonderandFlightBehavior 151
Conclusion:Memorializing9/11throughInterfaithDialoguewith
andaboutAmericanFictionaboutReligion 183
Bibliography 201
Index 213
AbouttheAuthor 221
vii