Looking for a place in the world : fuckhead’s existential quest in Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ son

Abstract

Jesus’ Son narration has been greatly analyzed to evoke the main character’s psychological and emotional frame of mind. However, little has been written about the main character in terms of his motivations and concerns. Following a New Criticism approach, this essay seeks to demonstrate how Fuckhead’s narration provides a lens into understanding his existential quest. The analysis includes elements such as Fuckhead’s narrative mechanisms and focuses on the role of spirituality and the search for meaningful human contact in the narrator’s existential crisis, collapse, and recovery