The events of September 11 were a shock not only to the United States but also to the entire world. Suddenly, the country, often perceived as impenetrable and unbeatable, faced the repercussions of a terrorist attack, shattering its masculine image (Carpenter 150). New and stricter guidelines were introduced at airports around the world, and the war on terrorism officially became a major focal point of American politics. In Saturday, Ian McEwan's novel published in 2005, the nature of post-9/11 society plays a central role. Set in London on February 15, 2003, the day of the massive demonstration against the war in Iraq, the story follows neurosurgeon Henry Perowne as he experiences this memorable Saturday. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Perowne's day begins in an unusual way: He wakes euphoric in the early hours of the morning, walks to the windows, and watches what he assumes is a plane being stormed by terrorists headed for the Post Office Tower. He later discovers that it was simply a Russian cargo plane making an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport. This incident aside, Perowne's day begins on a positive note: "Perowne goes back to bed, makes love to his wife, gets up and chats with his son in the kitchen, and then sets off for the day's tasks. These involve a game of pumpkin with a colleague, buying seafood from his favorite fishmonger, a visit to his mother in a retirement home, a brief appearance at his son's orchestra rehearsal, and preparing dinner for the big family reunion with the poets John Grammaticus [Perowne's father-in-law] and Daisy [Perowne's daughter] from France." (Eckstein 3). However, an encounter with the criminal Baxter and his companions on his way to the squash match sets off a chain of events that make for a bitter day. Perowne manages to fend off Baxter after receiving a single punch, acknowledging that he has Huntington's disease, "confronting him with his diagnosis, revealing his profession as a neurosurgeon, and offering some false ideas for possible cures." (Eckstein 3) While the rest of his day seems to pass without a hitch, it is during dinner that the climax of the novel occurs: Baxter, joined by one of his accomplices, breaks into Perowne's house, causing physical injuries. they give to both Grammaticus and Rosalind, Perowne's wife, and intends to rape Daisy. Once forced to undress he discovers that she is pregnant, which leads him to abandon this purpose and makes him concentrate on the volume of his recently published poems. After reciting Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," pretending it's his own work, Baxter's mood changes and he agrees to go upstairs to look at some research on curing his illness. Although the quest was a figment of Perowne's imagination, it is enough to give both him and his son Theo the ability to overpower Baxter. After throwing him down the stairs, Perowne operates on Baxter in hospital to repair the brain damage caused by the fall. The day ends with Perowne making love to his wife one more time. Aside from the obvious allusion to 9/11 in the opening scene (Ross) and the London demonstration, there are many other references to the post-9/11 world, often accompanied by critical notions (Hillard 186). Saturday offers a critique of post-9/11 British society, which can be found in the plot of its story and especially in its characters. A theme that appears often in Saturday is terrorism, including the terrorism involved in the attack...