September 11th, 2001 was a day that many Americans remember vividly. This tragic day forever changed the history of our country. Don DeLillo’s Falling Man is a novel about death and the struggle within society in a post 9/11 world. The characters are in a constant struggle with the world around them as well as their own internal conflicts.
In the story Falling Man by Don DeLillo, it begins with the main character, a city worker, Keith Neudecker walking through the streets. This is taking place right after the planes struck the World Trade Center during the terrorist attack in New York City. Keith is walking around, feeling very disoriented and in complete shock. He doesn’t really know where to go at this point, but he decides to make his way
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He finds Florence and “they begin a brief affair-of-connectedness” (Litt). Keith and Florence’s relationship blossoms into something more as they continue to spend time together. This makes the reader feel sad for his wife Lianne because she does not need any more problems in her life. Lianne is “preoccupied with her own attempts at willed amnesia–about 9/11, about her unspooled marriage, about her strained relationship with her mother, and about her son’s increasingly odd behavior” (Olsen). Keith is working on both relationships at one time, which is not fair to either woman.
Keith also enjoys playing poker. He used to play with his friends before September 11th occurred. His friends were lost inside the tower and unfortunately did not survive. Towards the end of the story, Keith leaves his family and goes to a casino in Las Vegas. Keith decided that he wanted to play poker again and participated in many professional poker tournaments all over the country.
Falling Man is a novel about death as the entire world is suffering the catastrophic event of September 11th, 2001. The characters in this book are not only trying to survive the aftermath, but they are also battling with their own individual issues. They have to figure out how to cope with the pain and confusion they have