Going Scapegoat

<p> Since 9/11 war literature has become a key element in American popular culture spurring critical debate about depictions of combat--Who can write war literature? When can they do it? This book presents a new way to closely read war narratives questioning the idea of combat gnosticism--the belief that the experience of war is impossible to communicate to those who have not seen it--that has dominated the discussion.</p><p> Adapting Kenneth Burke's scapegoat mechanism to the criticism of literature and film the author examines three novels from 2012--Ben Fountain's <I>Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk</I> David Abrams's <I>FOBBIT</I> and Kevin Powers' <I>The Yellow Birds</I>--that represent the U.S. military responses to 9/11.</p>