Ethical Uncertainty in Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections

Abstract

Contemporary fiction describes the incident and stories placed in present scenario, which is not at all attractive and interesting, because it reveals the realistic structure of the society of which we are the parts. We can address it as a realistic fiction. Contemporary fiction normally focuses on providing people a way into some corner of everyday experience and making us realize others pain. With a famous wording of Michel Foucault, the modern prison system is like “a rather disciplined barracks, a strict school, a dark workshop, but not qualitatively different". According to Foucault, in modern society, the techniques of power imply a disciplinary supplement that causes a certain rational continuity in society – a continuity that fully encircles and subjectifies the modern individual. Jonathan Franzen’s novel The Corrections is in many ways an exemplary literary manifestation of Foucault’s thesis. The paper aims to explore Ethical Uncertainty in Jonathan Franzen’s novel The Corrections.