What happened on September 9/11 in the USA led to many changes in the world. Radicalism and homegrown terrorism has been as disastrous as foreign radicalism and violent extremism and terrorism. Since 9/11 many books and studies were conducted in different fields of sociology, psychology, politics, and education. The world of arts and literature was affected as well and many novels, dramas, papers, and films were produced. In this paper Updike's novel, Terrorist, is discussed. Views of McCauley and Moskalenko with regards to individual, group and mass homegrown violent extremism are used to see how Ahmad is made into a would be terrorist under the guidance of Sheikh Rashid. It is argued that lack of father in his life, bullying in school, life style of his mother and his environment lead to his isolation and search for identity. However due to doubts he does not become a terrorist at the end.

Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, several novels were published dealing directly or indirectly with the effects of the Event on individuals-both inside and outside of the United States. Though the novels often claim to deal with the post traumatic aftermath of the incident, writers have adhered to orientalist stereotyping and it seems that after 9/11 such attitudes towards Muslims and Arabs have become stronger, strengthening even the dominant orientalist discourse.This paper shall focus on John Updike's Terrorist and Don Delillo's Falling Man. Both novels were New York Times' bestsellers and both novelists are prominent figures in contemporary American literature.Although the European culture is the place to look for orientalism and its roots, the mid 20th century and early 21st century saw a rise in orientalist approaches in the US, where these attitudes were promoted thereon. This article seeks to study how the named authors have represented Muslims and their ideologies. The significant point is that although these novels have been written in the 21st century and there has been an increase in contact with and information about Muslims, these writers have often used the same clichés and stereotypes about Muslims that have existed since the Middle Ages.

The post-9/11 fiction is regarded as one of the indispensable parts of contemporary American literature. Prominent novelists such as Martin Amis, John Updike, and Don DeLillo have directly addressed the 9/11 terrorist events in their fiction. DeLillo’s novels, however, have been of especial interest to the literary circles due to their decades-long preoccupation with the issue of terrorism in its different forms. For instance, Mao II is particularly described to be the historical prescience and anticipation of the 9/11 attacks. In this article, the writers explore the re-inscription of the dominant discourse of neo-Orientalism in Mao II and make a comparison between some of the dominant accounts of the 9/11 event and what is being introduced as terrorism through the framework of Orientalist discourse within the novel. The objective is to expose the roots of the novel’s “anticipations” of the 9/11 and thereby de-mythologize the author’s status as a guru of terrorist novel.

This paper will study the concept of American exceptionalism which defines America as an exception to the rest of the world has been depicted in different novels and media in two different American novels. The analysis based on the actantial Discourse which is a semiotic one could shed more light on this concept in the contemporary American literature .According to this concept, America is exceptional in life style and it can be considered as a role model politically, economically, artistically etc. for the rest of the world. Therefore America will be a symbol of free and prosperous life and democracy. This American exceptionalism could be followed in two novels: Terrorist (2006) by Updike and Expensive People (1972) by Oates. Although these two novels present American exceptionalism in two different perspectives, the basic concept can be traced in both novels. This paper will read two novels through semiotic analysis of the actantial Discourse in a broader concept in literature.