Decline in Humanity in Paul Auster’s In the Country of Last Things: Critical Analysis

Paul Auster’s In the Country of Last Things apocalyptic imagery is very much apparent in the depiction of ‘the famous City of Destruction. The themes of isolation and urban alienation direct the novel often offering it’s readers images of Gothic tropes. However, novelists like Auster use these depictions to represent the societal, political and moral concerns that were so significant to an American society during the twentieth century. The use of apocalyptic imagery essentially makes Auster’s novel follow the horror genre as it proposes images of decomposition that perhaps symbolise the downfall in mankind. Whilst Jonathan Foer in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close represents the recurring theme of death and moral corruption, these depictions allow the text to be viewed as apocalyptic as Foer is essentially the ultimate moral downfall in society. Imagery of entrapment is used extensively by Foer this teamed with the novelist’s representation of the 9/11 attacks suggest to the reader that the decay in humanity was a growing concern to America. These representations of moral and political corruption show the reader that although both books were written in two different centuries, the concerning issue remained to increase throughout contemporary fictional literature.

Apocalyptic imagery is an extensively used practice that educates it’s readers on the reality of society. It can tie in past and present evens with future predictions and does so by creating an apocalyptic landscape that suggests this is what mankind will eventuate with if nothing changes. Auster’s novel represents the fading of humankind from the outset as its title ‘last things’ suggest a disappearance of some sort. The hardship that was so substantial in a twentieth century American society threatened civilisation, and with such mass amounts of corruption and it’s societal core ‘the only practice of a post-apocalyptic appeared compulsory in the given situations. (Bendle, 2005: 1) From this we can gather the idea that perhaps Auster’s title is reminding us that the image of fading objects can in fact be read as apocalyptic imagery resembling the loss of moral and civilised order. During the post-modernist era, ‘this was a mounting worry across America. (Bendle, 2005: 1) Similarly, Foer represents a apocalyptic concepts but in a way that educates us on the tragedies of the 9/11 attacks. The narrative intended to inform its readers on historical events and illuminates how these tragedies impacted humanity. However, it is said that motifs demonstrated by Foer can never ‘even attempt to represent those events as dreadful as the 9/11 attacks.’ (Saal, 2001: 451) Regardless of Saal’s sentiment, the theme of death still holds a major focus over the text. Oskar, ridden with isolation, explores the theme in depth throughout the text: ‘In the end, everyone loses everyone. There was no invention to get around that.’ (Foer, 2013: 51) The theology of eschatology comes to mind when analysing Oskar as he regularly discusses things that symbolise the end of the world, or in this novel’s case the end of civilisation. This apocalyptic notion shows us that the mass amounts of deaths caused by the 9/11 bombings consumed people, and the theme of death then bared down on individuals like Oskar who felt like a turtle ‘that everything else in the universe was on top of.’ (Foer, 2013: 51)

Auster published his novel in 1987, a time period where ‘the industrial revolution has mechanized our society; and, with it, the number of serious injuries from vocational and recreational activities has steadily increased.’ (Boyd, 1980: 17) However, although industrialisation posed benefits to society, mass amounts of America grew concerned due to the deterioration of quality of life. Urbanization lead to both destruction of landscapes and conflict between civilians, both which can be read through apocalyptic imagery. Auster reflects urbanisation through his postmodern landscape that conveys a “social experience of lacking a place” (Jarvis, 1998: 86) Auster depicts that ‘Slowly and steadily, the city seems to be consuming itself, even as it remains (…) the streets are the worst, for there you are exposed to every hazard and inconvenience” (Auster, 2005: 21-22). The city in which Auster conveys appears as unrecognisable which again links to the recurring technique of apocalyptic imagery. The theme of unfamiliarity and lost ‘in a post-apocalyptic unidentified metropolis, the action is set is both physical and physical.’ (Merlob, 2007: 25) The theme of disconnection is very much apparent in Foer’s text. Oskar, as we already know, is dealing with person issues that make him explore Gothic themes as a somewhat coping mechanism. The gothic representation of him ‘feeling like I was in the middle of a huge black ocean, or in deep space,’ (Foer, 2013: 32) conveys an image of panic, which suggests to us that this is the result of his father’s death. He retreats at times of fear, granting the character the ultimate isolation. The motif of feeling lost can be read as considerably apocalyptic due to things appearing unfamiliar. However, from this we can gather that things have not substantially changed in his surroundings but that of his mind and a ‘majority of these representations have tapped into initial responses that appear destructing and apocalyptic to those affected.’ (Bendle, 2005) This supports the idea that although apocalyptic imagery is not necessarily presented by Foer in a way that depicts landscape but in fact the horrors of Oskar’s mind.

Auster represents apocalyptic imagery in which social relations become hazed. Anna is a perfect example of a victim of isolation caused by apocalyptic-like situations. She wrote in her notebook that ‘one by one they disappear and never come back’ adding that ‘Once a thing is gone, that is the end of it.’ (Auster, 2005: 1) Anna is observing things that she once knew well fade and transition into something that is so unknown to her. It appears that her life circulates around instability and this is projected onto her depictions of things. We can gather from her narrative that the ‘thing’ in her sentiment could suggest humanity as the period in which Auster writes the novel mass amounts of individuals felt isolated and major fears emerged due to the unpredictability of humankind. Anna is viewing an erratic changing space whilst ‘at the confluence of competing social forces, which constantly erase and resinscribe social relations.’ (Brown, 2007: 143) It seems that the character is finding difficulty in establishing a sense of identity and place, essentially Auster is segregating Anna into isolation and her life appears as meaningless and uncertain. Social relations were also impacted in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close as Foer reflects the emotions of characters in a way that isolates them. Oskar is intensely characterised by loneliness granting us the idea that he feels like he is the only one in the world left. This apocalyptic state is shown through his declaration that ‘Your dad didn’t die, so I won’t be able to explain it to you.’ (Foer, 2013: 24) The morbid remark to his mum shows that Oskar’s life is well-defined through bereavement. Whilst this can be suggested as a coping mechanism, death grants Oskar separation from the rest of the world and this isolation is apocalyptic due to his uncertainty on his surroundings, representing images of the uncanny.

Auster invites us to consider an apocalyptic world by warning us that that the novel is set in the ‘famous City of Destruction which sits outsides ‘the gate of dreams.’ (Auster, 2005: 2) Auster essentially warns his readers that the ruins of the city represent mass destruction offering us apocalyptic imagery, however by stating that the space lies by heaven-like ‘gates’ puts emphasis on the fact that one you enter, the possibility of no return is very likely. By contrasting the current state to that of heavenly depicted gates suggests that the city is hell. This gothic trope of heaven versus hell not only depicts a no return zone but also suggests that humanity at its current state is hellish and the moral and societal corruption that was so evident in the twentieth century made surroundings appear like an entrapment, again offering us apocalyptic imagery of gothic confinement. Foer represents the ultimate trauma in his novel; however one can realise that language can be at times undermining to that of the realities. Foer includes real-life images of the 9/11 events offering his readers the visual experience of trauma and tragedy. The novel includes famous image of ‘The Falling Man’ (Foer, 2013) and although some critics state this to be ‘mocking the black and white simplicity of printing paper’ (Baer, 2002: 2) It maintains the traumatic depictions to a high extent as the narrative is verified through visualisations of the actual attacks. Images allow readers to sympathise with the fictional characters, giving us the opportunity to realise the trauma endured by Oskar suggesting that ‘instead treating these elements as a meagre and unconvincing surrogate for language, they should be seen as complementary to the narrative.’ (Uytterschout, 2014: 1) Foer’s images represent citing of trauma and depicts an apocalyptic abuse that situates between life and death but also that of political and moral corruption.

A gradual decline in humanity is represented further in Auster’s work as the concept of entropy is discussed in more depth. The novelist represents Christian doctrine as entwined with that of apocalyptic imagery, often offering notions of revelation. This suggests that amongst the downfall in civilisation is an exposure to a modern order that can be remanded as irreversible. It must be said that Auster’s transitioning towards an apocalypse is overseen by regression and like what Elizabeth Wesseling depicts it as ‘the motif of history in reverse.’ (Wesseling, 1991: 498) Likewise to Foer, Auster creates a focused concern on the theme of death through In the Country of Last Things, the recurring motif, according to the narrative is ‘the only thing we have any feeling for. It is our art form, the only way we can express ourselves.’ (Auster, 2005: 29) Considering that ‘there are no schools anymore, art has disappeared’ and ‘there are no politics in the city.’ (Auster, 2005: 30) we can gather that a sense of boredom or perhaps nostalgia are major reasonings behind Auster’s morbid representations. There is a somewhat longing in the language that the narrator appears to be wishful for the past to re-emerge as the present brings us death as the only stimulant. On the contrary, Foer represents apocalyptic imagery through the depiction of surroundings. When depicting the tragedy sustained through the 9/11 attacks, Oskar conveys that ‘The bomb destroyed everything, the spectators in the seats, the people filming the match […] All that was left were white pieces on white square islands.’ (Foer, 2013: 99) Essentially Foer is giving us layers os historical trauma signifying different generational tragedies. Considering Oskar’s grandparents are German survivors of the Dresden bombing Foer is depicting trauma as entwined with the ultimate moral corruption. Kristiaan Versluys argues that Foer’s representation of ‘the atomic bombing of Hiroshima also obliquely serves as a 9/11 analogue, the novel universalizes grief.’ Adding that ‘some commentators regard the terrorist attacks as an episode in a wider clash of civilizations.’ (Versluys, 2009: 82) Essentially Versluys shows us that the apocalypticism in Foer’s text is not so much a literary tool but rather the symbolic motif of the ultimate moral and political corruption. This decrease in humanity shown through the ‘clash of civilisations’ caused the trauma that Oskar is experiencing, showing that this dehumanisation consumed the world of the novel, in the same way that an apocalypse can take over.

Auster uses Gothic representations of a landscape that entraps you in a way that projects apocalyptic imagery. He uses motifs of chaotic topography in an attempt to present a broken image. By creating a nightmare world when ‘impoverishment and homelessness create an almost uninhabitable world which reduces daily life to a raw struggle for survival’ (Lerate, 1996: 122) In Auster’s case, this ‘raw struggle’ is found from the concealment Anna faces in the city. The narrative depicts Anna’s imprisonment ‘On the one hand, you want to survive, to adapt […] But on the other hand, to accomplish this seems to entail killing of those things that once made you think of yourself as human.’ (Auster, 2005: 20) Auster connects Anna to that of a Zombie and this idea is gathered by Jesus Lerate’s sentiment that surviving in an ‘uninhabitable world’ of the ‘city of destruction’ causes one to lose human tropes. It is significant to note that Auster’s sentiments all relate back to the concept of an ending, and as we can see through Anna the attempt to survive in this world doesn’t seem justifiable. Equally, Foer uses morbid language to continue his apocalyptic imagery as the theme of death continues to permeate the novel. A complete emotional detachment form Oskar allows us to read the novel as an apocalyptic text as all human feelings and order are non-existent, the downfall of Oskar’s feelings represent a void in humankind as a whole: ‘She died in my arms, saying “I don’t want to die.” (Foer, 2013: 98) This traumatic sentiment is then concluded by an impassive and blank statement that ‘This is what death is like.’ (Foer, 2013: 93) Foer strips away the emotion from Oskar and by losing his human characteristic of feeling, the author is essentially de-humanising the protagonist. Michael Barkun depicts that apocalyptic literature forms a space that doesn’t relate to that of what we already know of the human race and ‘Hence the upsurge in apocalypticism may reflect an increase in adherents who cannot be categorized as human inhabitants.’ (Barkun, 1983: 262) Barkun is suggesting that through the use of apocalyptic imagery, Foer can successfully strip characters like Oskar of human traits. This emotionless detachment and the apocalyptic motif of death presents an associated with zombies, implying that the living are already dead due to the saddened life they are consuming. Apocalypse is a term derived from Greek mythology that shows ‘an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling.’ (Bloom, 2008: 3) Bloom’s depiction shows us that Foer utilises apocalypticism to represent Oskar’s past as a somewhat haunting to his present suggesting that the 9/11 attacks not only contributed to the deconstruction of humanity but also stripped the protagonist of all humane emotions. Whereas Bloom’s statement shows that Auster’s new world created fears of the unknown for Anna. These fears of unpredictability serve to symbolise the concerns that circulated America during the postmodern era regarding humanity and moral order.

Apocalyptic imagery was a regular technique used in post-modernist writing to enhance a person’s idea of a fading civilisation. Humankind was threatened by the disasters that occurred during the twentieth century and the use of a post-apocalyptic setting only seemed necessary to represent a society where moral and political corruption was at its heart. In the Country of Last Things is a dystopian epistolary representing the ultimate malfunction in society. This malfunction caused protagonist Anna to realise that she is ‘a constant outsider, looking in on this life in the city, which she always appears to treat as a temporary nightmare.’ (Auster, 2005, p.35) The term ‘nightmare’ depicts the landscape as apocalyptic offering us the insight that the hellish view is what in fact isolates her. Anna becomes a hunter in search for objects, however she finds herself unable to distinguish the purposes of objects that are broken. These broken objects symbolise a disintegration in society and according to Julian Wolfreys ‘such fragments, and the silences which the generate speak the unspeakable… bearing witness to an absence or the representability.’ (Wolfreys, 2000: 105) The comparison between ‘fragments’ and the unknown suggest that perhaps Auster is using Anna to present the survival for humanity. Her task to reconstruct the broken fragments is symbolic to the intense task to rebuild the chaotic mess seen in society. Whereas Auster attempts to include clips of renewing order, Foer focuses on the representation of imprisonment. This theme represented a void in mankind and uses disappearances to reflect a fade in societal order. ‘everyone is going to die, whether it’s in a millisecond, or days […] Everything that’s born has to die.’ (Foer, 2013: 137) Oskar’s morbid sentiment shows that the loss encountered consumed him. Prolonging the theme of death, Foer continues by comparing human being’s fate to that of ‘skyscrapers. The smoke rises at different speeds, but they’re all on fire, and we’re all trapped.’ (Foer, 2013: 138) The concept of being trapped can reflect that of a twentieth century America. Individuals felt consumed and entrapped in this new world where moral corruption was at it’s core. The horrific imagery of skyscrapers burning symbolises the ultimate corruption of the 9/11 attacks and Oskar is summarising that regardless of how you die, it is inevitable for everyone. Oskar’s morbid statements and Foer’s symbolic reflections show that the apocalyptic motif of death was best suited as a reflection for society during this period.

Auster’s apocalyptic imagery serves to illuminate a variety of concepts of civilisation in which Anna finds herself completely isolated from her surroundings. This unfamilarlity is a key aspect of apocalyptic imagery as the gothic trope of the unknown regularly occurs in literature that circulares apocalypticism. Anna’s struggle to find her brother leads her to feel imprisoned by the urban city and allows the reader to realise that Auster is relating her character to the process of survival, again illuminate the apocalyptic concept of the novel. However, in Foer’s text apocalyptic imagery can be read as a tool for depicting the downfall in humanity that symbolically reflects the moral corruption that was so prominent in a twentieth century American society. Foer uses the motifs of the 9/11 attacks to distinguish this ultimate societal corruption and by doing so, uses the trauma to depict a space that represents this lack of moral order. Foer essentially dehumanises his characters to project apocalyptic imagery often offering us sightings of people who peer as human beings but lack the simple characteristic of emotions. This emotion detachment along with Foer’s trauma ultimately makes his novel an apocalyptic read. Both authors use the gothic imagery to depict moral, societal and political upheaval that was so apparent in America during this period. The new post-modern world created fears for humanity and by depicting an apocalyptic space both authors are essentially granting us the idea that this is what individuals expected America to result in.