Date of Graduation
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This dissertation locates a problem in poststructuralism's approach to the concept of believing. Since poststructuralism establishes itself as an intellectual inquiry that deconstructs not only particular beliefs but also the act of believing, many poststructuralists overlook the fact that their own philosophical premises must be initially believed before their critical interventions gain credence. These critics do not explain how belief, as such, emerges within people or why people adopt one belief system over another. To address this aporia, this dissertation reviews both Jacques Derrida's conceptualization of the decision as a choice divorced from rational calculation of evidence and J.F. Lyotard's discussion of how new perspectives acquire credence over hegemonic metanarratives by presenting paradoxes inherent within the hegemony and using those paradoxes as a basis for a new interpretation of reality. Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytic praxis serves as a description of subjects changing their beliefs about themselves and others when they encounter a paralyzing conflict between their conscious and unconscious desires, accept those repressed desires, and redefine desire so that it can be pursued in satisfying ways. With this background work, this dissertation argues that beliefs gain traction insofar as they provide an interpretive logic enabling people to understand and pursue their core desires. An examination of autobiographies by Ashley Smith, Jane Tompkins, and Jacques Derrida highlights desire's role in their decisions upon what each believes. An analysis of Paul shows him reaching an impasse in his pursuit of desire; his conversion to Christianity grants Paul a new paradoxical logic that redefines desire so that he encounters satisfaction. This dissertation discusses various novels by authors concerned with Christianity's influence on both individuals and American culture. The novels examined are Tony Hendra's The Messiah of Morris Avenue, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins's Left Behind, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, Joyce Carol Oates's Son of the Morning , John Updike's In the Beauty of the Lilies, and John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany. The analyses of the novels emphasize that the decision to adopt or uphold a belief narrative results from a given narrative's ability to uncover and animate characters' core desires.
Recommended Citation
Zias, Anthony, "(Trans)forming belief, transforming desire: An analysis of conversion and belief in contemporary American fiction." (2008). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 10131.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/10131