Exploring the Representation of History and 'Slow Violence' in "Philadelphia Fire" and "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven"

Abstract

After connecting history to urban spatiality in Teju Cole's Open City, this paper develops Rob Nixon's articulation of "slow violence" to demonstrate how John Edgar Wideman and Sherman Alexie's novels depict issues of authenticity in storytelling, highlighting the limitations of representing the effects of “slow violence” on the cultural, physical, and economic welfare of marginalised communities in the aftermath of major violent events.