A(n) (Anarche)typical Journey Through New York: Don Delillo’s Cosmopolis as an American Postmodern Odyssey

Abstract

A(n) (Anarche)Typical Journey through New York: Don Delillo’s Cosmopolis as an American Postmodern Odyssey. Journeys made across the North American territories were often made in search of something: a better life, a further frontier space or the lifestyle and the bigger opportunities from the other coast. Other times, mostly towards the second half of the 20th century, these journeys were made out of the sheer pleasure of travelling, having no pre-established routes and allowing themselves to drift endlessly and leave rhizomatic traces on America’s map. In the case of Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis, these two types of geographical narratives overlap in Eric Packer’s chaotic limousine ride across New York, through which he tries to reach his hairdresser but is forever delayed by various things happening on the streets. Through an in-depth geocritical analysis of why the quintessence of the 21st century’s American space proves to be unnavigable in straightforward and ordered ways anymore, this paper will use Corin Braga’s “anarchetype” to define this type of movement and also to link it to the multiple and decentred identity of the postmodern subject. In addition, the protagonist’s journey through Manhattan will be seen as a postmodern odyssey where the destination eludes the traveller to the point in which the journey’s meaning does not even depend on it anymore. Keywords: Don DeLillo, Cosmopolis, anarchetype, geocriticism, postmodern odyssey, rhizomatic journey, American literature