Date of Graduation

Spring 2023

Degree

Master of Arts in English

Department

English

Committee Chair

Shannon Wooden

Abstract

By critically analyzing Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters, I was able to conclude that the transgressive portrayal of hyperrealized consumerism warranted a close examination into the value American society places on an individual’s ability to replace authenticity for consumer obedience. Palahniuk’s dangerous representation of the body throughout the novel serves to highlight numerous ways in which a consumer transgresses against their own physical and mental well-being to achieve happiness constructed by capitalistic agendas. By using French theorist Jean Baudrillard’s concept of hyperreality in connection with gender, disability, and feminist theory and ecocriticism, I attempt to deconstruct the neoliberal ideology to which each character in the novel is bound and offer a critical opinion on the fictionalization of the trans community as a hallmark of both escapism and the epitome of consumer fetishism.

Keywords

transgressive fiction, hyperreality, neoliberalism, transgender, ecocriticism, postmodern, consumerism, disability, gender, toxic consciousness

Subject Categories

American Literature | Literature in English, North America

Copyright

© Jordan R. Trevarthen

Open Access

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