ABSTRACT
The concluding chapter argues that although in some of their twenty-first century works Powers, Eggers, and DeLillo adopt balanced perspectives and explore both the opportunities and the possible hazards connected with different human enhancement technologies, they ultimately voice some critical posthumanist concerns. Specifically, their novels share in the critical posthumanist fear that the use of these technologies for enhancement purposes will bring about disembodiment and dehumanization. Rather than turning to technology as a way out of our problems, or as a way to improve our lives or achieve instant and effortless satisfaction, the writers this monograph studies stress the need to focus on, and enjoy, the present moment, to establish strong relationships with those around us, and to become resilient in the face of our problems. To this purpose, they use different narrative styles and techniques, from metafiction to social satire to aesthetic characteristics of the narratives of trauma, ultimately evidencing that fiction, in any of its plural manifestations, is indeed a suitable tool to help us assess critically both the possibilities opened up by—and, most importantly, the most nefarious aspects of—different human enhancement technologies so that we can pave our way to a better future.
