Critical Lens Essay

Modern History’s Influence on A Visit from the Goon Squad

A Visit from the Goon Squad was published in 2010, following a decade of

turmoil and unrest between America and foreign powers in the Middle East. In the ever-

shifting storyline of A Visit from the Goon Squad the attack of 9/11 is shown in multiple

chapters to be a focal point of change in both the characters’ lives and the future of

America. Sasha’s emotional connection to the site of the Twin Towers is a reflection of

Jennifer Egan’s connection the event, which dramatically altered security and politics on

a global level. In the aftermath of 9/11, George W. Bush passed the USA Patriot Act

and other laws to allow greater involvement of the federal government in domestic

surveillance and an increase in military spending. Citizens who feared future attacks

relied more heavily on the government than before, increasing the government’s ability

to implement aggressive reforms without backlash. The war on terror was in full effect

during Egan’s writing of A Visit from the Goon Squad and although no one yet knows

the lasting impacts of America’s intervention domestically and in foreign affairs, she

exposes a very possible future of America under the policies put in place after 9/11.

Through exaggeration of current issues in American society, in relation to terrorism and

global warming, Egan seeks to use fictional stories to reflect on real global issues

America is facing.

The altered future world that Egan presents is characterized by a much stronger

federal government with tight control over public safety. In Chapter 13, which describes

this future, citizens are not allowed to do seemingly harmless activities such as use

strollers because they impede public safety in the event of an evacuation. Alex also

describes the omnipresent existence of helicopters that are “flogging the air with a

sound Alex hadn’t been able to bear in the early years-too loud, too loud-but over time

he’d gotten used to it: the price of safety" (pg.330). The reasons for such tightened domestic

security are never fully explained, which is a tactic used by Egan to elevate the sense of

an ominous and paranoid destiny. The changes in society that are described in chapter

13 are an exaggerated version of real changes being made to the America economy

and foreign affairs influenced by the USA Patriot Act. For instance, a technological

economy and society arises which trains the youngest generation from birth how to use

handsets and communicate virtually. Those who thrive in the future world are young,

brilliant, and technologically capable individuals such as Lulu who can run the world

through their deep understanding of the workings of both human tendencies and

technology.

The symbol of “From A to B” in A Visit from the Goon Squad, used typically when

a character is attempting to discover which moments in their lives were pivotal to their

current position in life, can also be used to understand the importance of 9/11 in history.

The terrorist attack was a catalyst for not only domestic change, but a societal shift

globally, and is therefore a clear transition to a new modern world. In the novel only 7

out of 13 chapters are set in the time after 2001, which brings up the question, what is

the significance of focusing so heavily on events before 9/11? The earlier chapters are

included purely to juxtapose our future civilization with the oblivious world which existed

before. Chapters set before the shift feature a population less paranoid about its safety

and not worried about how technology could possibly alter how humans live and

communicate. Egan’s purpose is subtly explored in the other chapters after 9/11, but it

isn’t until the last chapter, chapter 13, that her objective is fully developed and

understood, making it the most important in the novel.

America faces its biggest challenges in foreign affairs with terrorist organizations,

and the catalyst for this war on terror was the infamous attack of 9/11. This atrocity

conducted by Al Qaeda left the world in shock and has had a profound impact on

foreign affairs up until the present day. Although only half of the book is set in this time

period after 9/11, it is in these chapters where she solidifies her purpose in writing the

novel. Jennifer Egan used events from the war on terror and other issues in current

affairs to create a future for society which serves to comment on present American

culture and new technology.