Sunset Park and the (de)construction of masculinity in the context of the Great Recession
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17561/grove.v33.9541Keywords:
Sunset Park, masculinity, crisis, the Great Recession, intertextuality, Paul AusterAbstract
Economic crises have the potential to dramatically reconfigure hitherto firmly-held beliefs, norms, and dogmas. This includes gender norms as well, since they always depend on the current economic configuration and typically change with it. Paul Auster’s Sunset Park explores the lives of four young people during the Great Recession and their ways of coping with it. The novel provides an excellent opportunity for an exploration of how gender norms fluctuate with the economy. In particular, this paper analyses the impact of the crisis on masculinity, as showcased by Miles Heller and Bing Nathan, the two main male characters. The central issue in the paper is the extent to which they manage to subvert and reshape masculinity and provide positive models for identification, as well as to what extent this is deliberate. The paper also analyses the intertext with The Great Gatsby and The Best Years of Our Lives to explore how these references help examine the masculinity portrayed in Sunset Park.
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