Date of Graduation
Spring 2016
Degree
Master of Arts in English
Department
English
Committee Chair
Matthew Calihman
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze David Foster Wallace's novel The Pale King through the critical lenses of Lubomir Dolezel's Heterocosmica and Louis Althusser's "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" to arrive at a theory of the heroic in the novel. The Pale King features multiple characters experiencing various crises in the face of an invisible, adversarial force that can be understood through Dolezel's modern myth formulation, in which an invisible domain oppresses characters. This study analyzes three themes of the novel in which this interaction is most observable: the religious, the supernatural, and the civic themes. Althusser's work is applied to argue that the invisible domain functions through an ideological mechanism. The thesis's last chapter arrives at a twofold theory of the heroic that both helps illuminate The Pale King's central characters and augments Dolezel's theory. The heroic characters of the novel follow one of two models: the mystical model – embodied by Shane Drinion – comprises being able to find meaning in meaningless work, rather like Sisyphus; the civic model – embodied by DeWitt Glendenning – entails adhering to the outmoded but noble convictions of civic responsibility despite inevitable downfall in the face of the invisible domain.
Keywords
The Pale King, Heterocosmica, modern myth, ideology, heroism, civic responsibility
Subject Categories
English Language and Literature
Copyright
© Matthew Ryan Stewart
Recommended Citation
Stewart, Matthew Ryan, "Modern Myth And Ideology In David Foster Wallace's The Pale King" (2016). MSU Graduate Theses/Dissertations. 2543.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/2543
