Representation of Muslims in Don DeLillo’s Falling Man: A Critical Discourse Analysis

The novel Falling Man, like Don DeLillo’s other works, is thematically concerned with the symbolic aspect of terrorist violence as portrayed in the media. Furthermore, DeLillo’s story investigates the potential of rewriting individual identity, as well as the tendency of people to establish their identities using a community mindset. This article examines the portrayal of Muslims in Don DeLillo’s Falling Man, focusing on their difficulties during the period that saw the rise of terrorism. Although the image of Muslims in literature is becoming increasingly prevalent, their portrayals are sometimes reductive or stereotypical. The current study intends to investigate the intricate and subtle portrayals of Muslims, as well as the underlying ideas that affect these representations. A qualitative study design was used, with five passages carefully chosen from Falling Man. The study adopts an eclectic paradigm that examines text, discourse practice, and sociocultural practice by combining Fairclough’s (2003) three-dimensional framework with Van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis and manipulation method (2006). The findings show that the non-Muslim character’s speech uses specific narrative and discursive tactics to obfuscate Muslims’ genuine experiences, maintaining dominant preconceptions while occasionally upsetting them. The analysis reveals that the portrayal of Muslims in Falling Man is multifaceted and challenges popular prejudices. Finally, the novel uses discourse analysis to show the relationship between language, identity, and power, offering a critical evaluation of society’s opinions of Muslims and the larger political framework in which they operate.