The Artistic Image of the U.S. Midwest in the Novelsby W. Gass and D. F. Wallace as a Metaphor of Human Existence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17072/2073-6681-2023-1-103-112Keywords:
Midwest; philosophical novel; William Gass; David Foster Wallace; Wittgenstein; language.Abstract
The article deals with the image of the U.S. Midwest and its significance as the setting of William Н. Gass’s and David Foster Wallace’s philosophical novels. The analysis of the artistic details representing the everyday life of the characters, together with the studies of the works by prominent philosophers and historians, lead the authors of the article to the conclusion that for both writers the Midwest appears to be more than a geographical location, turning into an important symbol of human life as a reality created and defined by language. In the analyzed novels, the living conditions in the Midwest, traditionally perceived as the most typical for America, become a philosophical reflection of the general conditions of human existence as immersion in the world created by language. Emptiness and loneliness, characteristic of the Midwestern life due to the geographical and historical circumstances under which the region has developed, are considered by Gass and Wallace as universal conditions of human existence. A person, thrown into the material emptiness of an objectively existing world, tries to seek salvation with the help of language as the only philosophical tool at his disposal. The characters in the novels try to fill the void of their existence with words, thus striving to give shape and meaning to reality. But limited by the framework of language as a pragmatically conditioned reflection of the material facts, a person does not find an opportunity to reach the sphere of the metaphysical and the ethical, and, as a result, the external boredom of the provincial Midwest lifestyle turns into inner emptiness as the dominant feeling of the characters in the novels. Gass does not see an opportunity for his characters to escape from the trap set by the language-dominated world, while Wallace is actively looking for the ways to overcome the adverse circumstances through an ethical action as the opposite of the word.References
Витгенштейн Л. Философские работы. Ч. I / пер. с нем. М. С. Козловой и Ю. А. Асеева. М.: Гнозис, 1994. 612 с.
Луков В. А. История литературы. Зарубежная литература от истоков до наших дней. М.: Академия, 2006. 512 с.
Никулина А. К. Диалог аналитической и континентальной философии в романе Д. Ф. Уоллеса «Швабра системы» // Известия Смоленского государственного университета. 2021. № 3 (55). С. 40–52. doi 10.35785/2072-9464-2021-55-3-40-52
Auerbach D. Glass and Dirt: ‘The Tunnel’ in Twelve Antitheses // The Tunnel at 25: An Online Symposium. 2020. https://thetunnelat25.com/glass-and-dirt-the-tunnel-in-twelve-antitheses/ (дата обращения: 05.06.2022).
Casey E. S. The Fate of Place: A Philosophical History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. 488 p.
Conversations with David Foster Wallace / ed. by S. J. Burn. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2012. 181 p.
Freedom and Self: Essays on the Philosophy of David Foster Wallace / ed. by S. M. Cahn and M. Eckert. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015. 179 p.
Gass W. H. Middle C. Waterville, Maine: Thorndike Press, 2013. 701 p.
Gass W. H. Omensetter’s Luck. New York: New American Library, 1967. 237 p.
Gass W. H. The Tunnel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1995. 651 p.
Gerke G. The First Movements in ‘The Tunnel’ // The Tunnel at 25: An Online Symposium. 2020. https://thetunnelat25.com/the-first-movements-in-the-tunnel (дата обращения 01.06.2022).
Gesturing toward reality: David Foster Wallace and Philosophy / ed. by R. K. Bolger and S. Korb. New York: Bloomsbury, 2014. 284 p.
Hix H. L. Understanding William H. Gass. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2002. 189 p.
Konstantinou L. No Bull: David Foster Wallace and Postironic Belief // The Legacy of David Foster Wallace. Ed. S. Cohen and L. Konstantinou. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2012. P. 83–112.
LeClair T. The Art of Fiction // The ParisReview. 1977. Issue 70. https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3576/the-art-of-fiction-no-65-william-gass (дата обращения: 03.06.2022).
Madera J. Sentenced to Depth // Rain Taxi. Spring 2013. URL: https://medium.com/the-william-h-gass-interviews/william-h-gass-interviewed-by-john-madera-2012-4b48ee6fd0c4#.5mcgjotdc (дата обращения 01.06.2022).
Shortridge J. R. The Middle West: Its Meaning in American Culture. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1989. 201 p.
Silverblatt M. A Small Apartment in Hell // Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1995. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-19-bk-44339-story.html (дата обращения: 05.06.2022).
Silverblatt M. Interview with William H. Gass / Transcript of the broadcast “Lannan Readings & Conversations: William Gass”, 1998. https://medium.com/the-william-h-gass-interviews/william-h-gass-interview-with-michael-silverbatt-1998-ab8cdbe33563 (дата обращения: 05.06.2022).
Wallace D. F. The Broom of the System. New York: Penguin Books, 2004. 467 p.
Wallace D. F. The Pale King. An Unfinished Novel. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2011. 560 p. URL: https://royallib.com/read/Wallace_David/the_pale_king_an_unfinished_novel.html (дата обращения: 24.03.2022).
Wescott G. Good-Bye Wisconsin. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928. 362 p.
References
Wittgenstein L. Filosofskie raboty [Philosophical Works]. Transl. from German by M. S. Kozlova and Yu. A. Aseev. Moscow, Gnosis Publ., 1994, pt. 1. 612 p. (In Russ.)
Lukov V. A. Istoriya literatury. Zarubezhnaya literatura ot istokov do nashikh dney [History of Literature. Foreign Literature from the Origins to the Present Day]. Moscow, Akademia Publ., 2006. 512 p. (In Russ.)
Nikulina A. K. Dialog analiticheskoy i kontinental’noy filosofii v romane D. F. Uollesa ‘Shvabra sistemyʼ [Interaction of analytic and continental philosophical traditions in D. F. Wallace’s ‘The Broom of the System’]. Izvestiya Smolenskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Izvestia of Smolensk State University], 2021, issue 3 (55), pp. 40–52. doi 10.35785/2072-9464-2021-55-3-40-52. (In Russ.)
Auerbach D. Glass and dirt: ‘The Tunnel’ in twelve antitheses. The Tunnel at 25: An Online Symposium, 2020. Available at: https://thetunnelat25.com/glass-and-dirt-the-tunnel-in-twelve-antitheses/ (accessed 05 Jun 2022). (In Eng.)
Casey E. S. The Fate of Place: A Philosophical History. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1997. 488 p. (In Eng.)
Conversations with David Foster Wallace. Ed. by S. J. Burn. Jackson, University Press of Mississippi, 2012. 181 p. (In Eng.)
Freedom and Self: Essays on the Philosophy of David Foster Wallace. Ed. by S. M. Cahn and M. Eckert. New York, Columbia University Press, 2015. 179 p. (In Eng.)
Gass W. H. Middle C. Waterville, Maine, Thorndike Press, 2013. 701 p. (In Eng.)
Gass W. H. Omensetter’s Luck. New York, New American Library, 1967. 237 p. (In Eng.)
Gass W. H. The Tunnel. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1995. 651 p. (In Eng.)
Gerke G. The first movements in ‘The Tunnel’. The Tunnel at 25: An Online Symposium, 2020. Available at: https://thetunnelat25.com/the-first-movements-in-the-tunnel (accessed 01 Jun 2022). (In Eng.)
Gesturing Toward Reality: David Foster Wallace and Philosophy. Ed. by R. K. Bolger and S. Korb. New York, Bloomsbury, 2014. 284 p. (In Eng.)
Hix H. L. Understanding William H. Gass. Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, 2002. 189 p. (In Eng.)
Konstantinou L. No bull: David Foster Wallace and postironic belief. The Legacy of David Foster Wallace. Ed. by S. Cohen and L. Konstantinou. Iowa City, University of Iowa Press, 2012, pp. 83–112. (In Eng.)
LeClair T. The art of fiction. The Paris Review, 1977, issue 70. Available at: https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/3576/the-art-of-fiction-no-65-william-gass (accessed 03 Jun 2022). (In Eng.)
Madera J. Sentenced to depth. Rain Taxi, spring 2013. Available at: https://medium.com/the-william-h-gass-interviews/william-h-gass-interviewed-by-john-madera-2012-4b48ee6fd0c4#.5mcgjotdc (accessed 01 Jun 2022). (In Eng.)
Shortridge J. R. The Middle West: Its Meaning in American Culture. Lawrence, University Press of Kansas, 1989. 201 p. (In Eng.)
Silverblatt M. A small apartment in hell. LosAngeles Times, 1995, March 19. Available at: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-03-19-bk-44339-story.html (accessed 05 Jun 2022). (In Eng.)
Silverblatt M. Interview with William H. Gass. Transcript of the broadcast ‘Lannan Readings & Conversations: William Gass’, 1998. Available at: https://medium.com/the-william-h-gass-interviews/william-h-gass-interview-with-michael-silverbatt-1998-ab8cdbe33563 (accessed 05 Jun 2022). (In Eng.)
Wallace D. F. The Broom of the System. New York, Penguin Books, 2004. 467 p. (In Eng.)
Wallace D. F. The Pale King. An Unfinished Novel. New York, Little, Brown and Company, 2011. 560 p. Available at: https://royallib.com/read/Wallace_David/the_pale_king_an_unfinished_novel.html (accessed 24 Mar 2022). (In Eng.)
Wescott G. Good-Bye Wisconsin. New York, Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928. 362 p. (In Eng.)
