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چکیده
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This thesis examined the operation of ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) in Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers (2011) through the lens of Louis Althusser’s neo-Marxist theory. Drawing on Althusser’s reconceptualization of ideology as a material and institutional practice rather than a system of abstract beliefs, the study investigated how subjectivity is produced, destabilized, and partially reconfigured in the aftermath of the Sudden Departure, an unexplained mass disappearance that fractures social meaning and institutional authority. Using qualitative close textual analysis, the research explored how key institutions—namely the family, religion, and civic structures—function as ISAs that interpellate individuals into socially recognizable subject positions prior to the crisis, and how these mechanisms falter following the collapse of ideological legitimacy. The analysis demonstrated that, although institutional forms persist materially after the Departure, their capacity to generate identification and secure belief diminishes, resulting in what may be described as hollow or residual ideology. Particular attention is given to the Garvey family, Mapleton’s churches, and civic rituals, revealing how ideological reproduction depends on affective investment, ritual repetition, and symbolic coherence. Furthermore, the study analyzed alternative ideological formations such as the Guilty Remnant, interpreting them as counter-ideological configurations that do not exist outside ideology but rather operate as dissident formations within it. Resistance in The Leftovers was, thus, shown not to lead to emancipation or ideological transcendence, but to fragile modes of survival subjectivity, in which meaning is sustained through minimal practices rather than restored coherence. Ultimately, this research argued that The Leftovers offers a critical literary representation of ideological crisis in late-capitalist society, exposing the contingency of subject formation and the precarious nature of institutional authority. By applying an Althusserian framework to a contemporary American novel, the study contributes to Neo-Marxist literary criticism and demonstrates the continued relevance of ideological analysis in understanding post-traumatic cultural narratives.
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