BibTex RIS Cite

Memorial Representation in Amy Waldman’s The Submission and the Novel as a Counter-Monument

Year 2019, Issue: 50, 63 - 90, 01.04.2019

Abstract

The crisis caused by the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers has also shown itself in the fields of art and literature. There are ongoing discussions over the role of the artist/writer after 9/11 and how the events could be best represented. Amy Waldman’s novel The Submission 2011 narrates America’s encounter with its Muslim population after 9/11. Although many 9/11 novels most favored by academics deal with domestic and psychic trauma, Waldman’s novel focuses instead on the cultural trauma. This article will compare the reactions to the actual 9/11 memorial design of Michael Arad with the reactions to the memorial design of Mohammad Khan narrated in The Submission, to display parallelisms which would bare the novel’s political potential to question America’s relationship to its past. It will read The Submission as a novel that functions as what James E. Young would call a “countermonument,” serving as an anti-solution to the attacks on the Twin Towers; provoking the reader to remember, think and question the past; and rendering them active participants rather than “passive and forgetful” ones for whom the memory work is done by the memorials. In line with Young’s concept of the counter-monument, Waldman’s novel does not attempt to show American society better than it is, nor does it attempt to provide a closure or a reconciliation regarding 9/11. Instead with its depiction of a fictional memorial debate, it challenges a unified notion of the past forced on Americans and questions the idea of building a memorial that bury events beneath national myths, which attest the novel’s function as a counter-monument

References

  • Allison, David B. Controversial Monuments and Memorials: A Guide for Community Leaders. Rowman and Littlefield, 2018.
  • Baelo-Alluè, Sonia. “From the Traumatic to Political: Cultural Trauma, 9/11 and Amy Waldman’s The Submission.” Atlantis: Journal of the Spanish Association for Anglo-American Studies, vol. 38, 2016, pp.165-83. atlantisjournal.org/index.php?journal =atlantis&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=167.
  • Bodner, John E. Remaking America: Public Memory, Commemoration and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press, 1992.
  • Derbyshire, Jonathan. “The Book Interview: Amy Waldman.” New Statesman Magazine, 11 Sept. 2011. newstatesman.com/blogs/ cultural-capital/2011/09/novel-submission-memorial-felt. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Doss, Erika. Memorial Mania: Public Feeling in America. Chicago University Press, 2010.
  • Eikonsalo, Sini. “[S]ometimes America needs to be pushed”: Amy Waldman’s The Submission and the Early American 9/11 Novels.” Brno Studies in English, vol. 43, no. 2, 2017, pp. 79- 94. ResearchGate, doi: 10.5817/BSE2017-2-4
  • Estévez-Saá, Margarita and Noemí Pereira-Ares. “Trauma and Transculturalism in Contemporary Fictional Memories of 9/11.” Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, vol. 57, no. 3, 2016, pp. 268-78. Tandfonline, doi: 10.1080/00111619.2015.1078765.
  • Gray, Richard. “Open Doors, Closed Minds: American Prose Writing at a Time of. Crisis.” American Literary History, vol. 21, no. 1, 2009, pp. 128-51. Oxford Academic, doi.org/10.1093/alh/ajn061.
  • “Here’s How A Controversial Work of Art Healed America After Vietnam.” Public Radio International (PRI), 6 Oct. 2013, pri.org/ stories/2013-10-06/heres-how-controversial-work-art-healedamerica-after-vietnam. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Hurley, Clare. “In the Absence of an Explanation: The World Trade Center Memorial Site.” World Socialist Website, 20 March 2004. wsws.org/en/articles/2004/03/wtcc-m20.html. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Keeble, Arin. The 9/11 Novel: Trauma, Politics and Identity. McFarland, 2014.
  • Lang, Karen. “Eric Fischl’s Tumbling Woman, 9/11, and ‘Timeless Time.’» Future Anterior, vol. 8 no. 2, 2011, pp. 20-35. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/fta.2011.0009.
  • Legatt, Matthew. “Deflecting Absence: 9/11 Fiction and the Memorialization of Change.” Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, 2016, pp. 203-221. JSTOR, doi:10.5325/ intelitestud.18.2.0203.
  • Legro, Tom. “Conversation: Amy Waldman, Author of ‘The Submission.’” Public Broadcasting Service Webpage, 7 Sep. 2011. pbs.org/newshour/arts/conversation-amy-waldmanauthor-of-the-submission. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Leopold, Todd. “The Making of a Memorial: Reshaping Ground Zero.” CNN Website, 1 Sep. 2011. edition.cnn.com/2011/US/08/31/911. memorial/index.html. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Luria, Isaac. “Opposition to ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Is Offensive and Wrong.” The Huffington Post Website, 8 Feb. 2010. huffingtonpost. com/isaac-luria/opposition-to-ground-zero_b_667526.html. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Mandell, Jonathan. “9/11 and ‘Inappropriate Art.’” Gotham Gazette Website, 9 Sept. 2005. gothamgazette.com/government/4191- 911-and-inappropriate-art. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • McDowell, Peggy and Richard E. Meyer. The Revival Styles in American Memorial Art. Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1994.
  • Milhãilescu, Dana, Roxana Oltean and Mihaela Precup. Mapping Generations of Traumatic Memory in American Narrative. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014.
  • “Monument against Fascism.” Jochen Gerz Webpage, 10 Jul. 2018. jochengerz.eu/works/monument-against-fascism. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Morey, Peter and Amina Yaqin. Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation after 9/11. Harvard University Press, 2011.
  • Morley, Catherine. “How Do We Write about This?” Journal of American Studies, vol. 45, no. 4, 2011, pp. 717-32. JSTOR, doi:10.1017/ S0021875811000922.
  • Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Use and Abuse of History. Translated by Adrian Collins, Liberal Arts Press and Bobbs-Merrill, 1985.
  • Reno, R. R. “The Failed 9/11 Memorial.” First Things Journal. Dec. 2011. Institute on Religion and Public Life. firstthings.com/ article/2011/12/the-failed-9-11-memorial. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Rothberg, Michael. “A Failure of the Imagination: Diagnosing the Post9/11 Novel: A Response to Richard Gray.” American Literary History, vol. 21, no.1, 2009, pp.152-58. Oxford Academic. doi:10.1093/alh/ajn040.
  • Schatz, Robert T., Ervin Staub, and Howard Lavine. “On the Varieties of National Attachment: Blind Versus Constructive Patriotism.” Political Psychology, vol. 20, no.1, 1999, pp. 151-74. Wiley Online, doi:10.1111/0162-895X.00140.
  • Schonberg, Karl K. “Identity and Policy in the U.S. War in Iraq and War on Terror: A Constructivist Analysis” Presentation. Standing Group on International Relations European Consortium for Political Research Sixth Pan- European International Relations Conference, Turin-Italy. 12-15 September 2007. researchgate.net. 15 Sept. 2014. researchgate.net/publication/228815650_Identity_ and_Policy_in_the_US_War_in_Iraq_and_War_on_Terror_A_ Constructivist_Analysis.
  • Smith, Anthony D. Ethno-symbolism and Nationalism: A Cultural Approach. Routledge, 2009.
  • Waldman, Amy. The Submission. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
  • Young, James E. “The Counter-Monument: Memory against Itself in Germany Today.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 18, Winter 1992, pp. 267- 294. JSTOR, doi:10.1086/448632.
  • ---. “Memory and Counter Memory.” Harvard Design Magazine, no.9, Fall 1999, harvarddesignmagazine.org/issues/9/memory-andcounter-memory

Amy Waldman’ın The Submission Romanında Anıtsal Temsil ve Bir Karşı Anıt olarak Roman

Year 2019, Issue: 50, 63 - 90, 01.04.2019

Abstract

11 Eylül 2001’de New York’ta İkiz Kulelere yapılan terör saldırılarının yansımaları edebiyat ve sanat alanlarında da kendini gösterdi. Saldırılar sonrası sanatçının/yazarın rolü ve olayların ortaya konacak eserlerde en iyi nasıl temsil edileceği üzerine gelişen tartışmalar halen sürmektedir. Amy Waldman’ın The Submission 2011 romanı Amerika’nın 11 Eylül sonrası Müslüman vatandaşlarıyla karşı karşıya gelişini ele alır. Akademisyenler tarafından en çok övgü alan bu dönem romanları ruhsal travmayı konu ederken, Waldman’ın romanı bunlar yerine kültürel travmaya odaklanır. Bu makale Michael Arad’ın 11 Eylül anıtına gösterilen tepkileri romanın baş karakteri Mohammad Khan’ın kurgusal anıt projesine gösterilen tepkilerle kıyaslayacak ve romanın Amerika’nın geçmişiyle olan ilişkisini sorgulamaya yönelik siyasi olanakları gözler önüne sermek adına bu tepkiler arasındaki benzerliklere dikkat çekecektir. Bunu yaparken, romanı İkiz Kulelere yapılan saldırılara bir çözüm sunmayan; aksine okuyucuları olayları hatırlamaya sevk eden; onları geçmiş hakkında düşündüren ve sorgulatan; onları hatırlama işini kendileri yerine anıtlara yaptıran “pasif” ve “unutkan” bireyler olmaktansa aktif katılımcılar haline getirmeyi hedefleyen; James E. Young’ın “karşı anıt” kavramına uyan bir eser olarak ele alacaktır. Roman, 11 Eylül sonrası Amerikan toplumunu olduğundan daha iyi göstermeye veya olaylara bir sonuç veya uzlaşma sağlamaya çalışmaz. Tam tersine, sunduğu kurmaca anıt tartışması ile, Amerikalılara dayatılan sorgulanmaya kapalı geçmiş anlayışına ve saldırıları ulusal mitlerin altına gömecek bir anıt tercih etme fikrine meydan okuyan bir “karşı anıt” olarak ortaya çıkar

References

  • Allison, David B. Controversial Monuments and Memorials: A Guide for Community Leaders. Rowman and Littlefield, 2018.
  • Baelo-Alluè, Sonia. “From the Traumatic to Political: Cultural Trauma, 9/11 and Amy Waldman’s The Submission.” Atlantis: Journal of the Spanish Association for Anglo-American Studies, vol. 38, 2016, pp.165-83. atlantisjournal.org/index.php?journal =atlantis&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=167.
  • Bodner, John E. Remaking America: Public Memory, Commemoration and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century. Princeton University Press, 1992.
  • Derbyshire, Jonathan. “The Book Interview: Amy Waldman.” New Statesman Magazine, 11 Sept. 2011. newstatesman.com/blogs/ cultural-capital/2011/09/novel-submission-memorial-felt. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Doss, Erika. Memorial Mania: Public Feeling in America. Chicago University Press, 2010.
  • Eikonsalo, Sini. “[S]ometimes America needs to be pushed”: Amy Waldman’s The Submission and the Early American 9/11 Novels.” Brno Studies in English, vol. 43, no. 2, 2017, pp. 79- 94. ResearchGate, doi: 10.5817/BSE2017-2-4
  • Estévez-Saá, Margarita and Noemí Pereira-Ares. “Trauma and Transculturalism in Contemporary Fictional Memories of 9/11.” Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, vol. 57, no. 3, 2016, pp. 268-78. Tandfonline, doi: 10.1080/00111619.2015.1078765.
  • Gray, Richard. “Open Doors, Closed Minds: American Prose Writing at a Time of. Crisis.” American Literary History, vol. 21, no. 1, 2009, pp. 128-51. Oxford Academic, doi.org/10.1093/alh/ajn061.
  • “Here’s How A Controversial Work of Art Healed America After Vietnam.” Public Radio International (PRI), 6 Oct. 2013, pri.org/ stories/2013-10-06/heres-how-controversial-work-art-healedamerica-after-vietnam. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Hurley, Clare. “In the Absence of an Explanation: The World Trade Center Memorial Site.” World Socialist Website, 20 March 2004. wsws.org/en/articles/2004/03/wtcc-m20.html. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Keeble, Arin. The 9/11 Novel: Trauma, Politics and Identity. McFarland, 2014.
  • Lang, Karen. “Eric Fischl’s Tumbling Woman, 9/11, and ‘Timeless Time.’» Future Anterior, vol. 8 no. 2, 2011, pp. 20-35. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/fta.2011.0009.
  • Legatt, Matthew. “Deflecting Absence: 9/11 Fiction and the Memorialization of Change.” Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, 2016, pp. 203-221. JSTOR, doi:10.5325/ intelitestud.18.2.0203.
  • Legro, Tom. “Conversation: Amy Waldman, Author of ‘The Submission.’” Public Broadcasting Service Webpage, 7 Sep. 2011. pbs.org/newshour/arts/conversation-amy-waldmanauthor-of-the-submission. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Leopold, Todd. “The Making of a Memorial: Reshaping Ground Zero.” CNN Website, 1 Sep. 2011. edition.cnn.com/2011/US/08/31/911. memorial/index.html. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Luria, Isaac. “Opposition to ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Is Offensive and Wrong.” The Huffington Post Website, 8 Feb. 2010. huffingtonpost. com/isaac-luria/opposition-to-ground-zero_b_667526.html. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Mandell, Jonathan. “9/11 and ‘Inappropriate Art.’” Gotham Gazette Website, 9 Sept. 2005. gothamgazette.com/government/4191- 911-and-inappropriate-art. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • McDowell, Peggy and Richard E. Meyer. The Revival Styles in American Memorial Art. Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1994.
  • Milhãilescu, Dana, Roxana Oltean and Mihaela Precup. Mapping Generations of Traumatic Memory in American Narrative. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014.
  • “Monument against Fascism.” Jochen Gerz Webpage, 10 Jul. 2018. jochengerz.eu/works/monument-against-fascism. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Morey, Peter and Amina Yaqin. Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation after 9/11. Harvard University Press, 2011.
  • Morley, Catherine. “How Do We Write about This?” Journal of American Studies, vol. 45, no. 4, 2011, pp. 717-32. JSTOR, doi:10.1017/ S0021875811000922.
  • Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Use and Abuse of History. Translated by Adrian Collins, Liberal Arts Press and Bobbs-Merrill, 1985.
  • Reno, R. R. “The Failed 9/11 Memorial.” First Things Journal. Dec. 2011. Institute on Religion and Public Life. firstthings.com/ article/2011/12/the-failed-9-11-memorial. Accessed 20 July 2018.
  • Rothberg, Michael. “A Failure of the Imagination: Diagnosing the Post9/11 Novel: A Response to Richard Gray.” American Literary History, vol. 21, no.1, 2009, pp.152-58. Oxford Academic. doi:10.1093/alh/ajn040.
  • Schatz, Robert T., Ervin Staub, and Howard Lavine. “On the Varieties of National Attachment: Blind Versus Constructive Patriotism.” Political Psychology, vol. 20, no.1, 1999, pp. 151-74. Wiley Online, doi:10.1111/0162-895X.00140.
  • Schonberg, Karl K. “Identity and Policy in the U.S. War in Iraq and War on Terror: A Constructivist Analysis” Presentation. Standing Group on International Relations European Consortium for Political Research Sixth Pan- European International Relations Conference, Turin-Italy. 12-15 September 2007. researchgate.net. 15 Sept. 2014. researchgate.net/publication/228815650_Identity_ and_Policy_in_the_US_War_in_Iraq_and_War_on_Terror_A_ Constructivist_Analysis.
  • Smith, Anthony D. Ethno-symbolism and Nationalism: A Cultural Approach. Routledge, 2009.
  • Waldman, Amy. The Submission. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
  • Young, James E. “The Counter-Monument: Memory against Itself in Germany Today.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 18, Winter 1992, pp. 267- 294. JSTOR, doi:10.1086/448632.
  • ---. “Memory and Counter Memory.” Harvard Design Magazine, no.9, Fall 1999, harvarddesignmagazine.org/issues/9/memory-andcounter-memory
There are 31 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Merve Özman Kaya This is me

Publication Date April 1, 2019
Published in Issue Year 2019 Issue: 50

Cite

MLA Özman Kaya, Merve. “Amy Waldman’ın The Submission Romanında Anıtsal Temsil Ve Bir Karşı Anıt Olarak Roman”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, no. 50, 2019, pp. 63-90.

JAST - Journal of American Studies of Turkey