Making Sense of the Holocaust by Means of Backward Narration

Martin Amis's Time's Arrow

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Making Sense of the Holocaust by Means of Backward Narration by Thomas Neumann, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas Neumann ISBN: 9783638046213
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: May 6, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Thomas Neumann
ISBN: 9783638046213
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: May 6, 2008
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Augsburg, course: Literature and the Holocaust, 12 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The problem of finding appropriate ways to represent the Holocaust has been haunting Holocaust literature ever since Theodor Adorno's famous dictum that there cannot be any poetry after Auschwitz. In fact, the uniqueness of the Holocaust raises serious ethical questions whether there can be any appropriate representation of these atrocious events at all. As the horror of Auschwitz goes beyond human imagination, the problem boils down to the one question: How can you imagine the unimaginable? Martin Amis's novel Time's Arrow or the Nature of the Offence (1991) has a rather bold answer to this question: by narrating it backwards. In the novel, the story of the Nazi doctor Odilo Unverdorben is narrated vice versa, following his life from end to start through the eyes of a ghostlike narrator who emerges at the point of his death. As the technique of backward narration distinguishes Time's Arrow from almost any other Holocaust fiction, in the following my focus will be on the novel's use of narrative reversal to represent the Holocaust. I will argue that the technique of backward narration offers a way to make sense of the Holocaust and Nazism in general, thereby showing that the novel's form and content are inseparably linked. In order to do this, I will first go over some of the negative criticism that Time's Arrow was exposed to, focusing on the problem of form and content. I will then show how backward narration offers a solution to specific problems in Holocaust literature and how it helps to avoid the danger of aestheticising Auschwitz. After that, I will point out that backward narration can help to understand the Holocaust, exploring the connections between Nazism and the temporal and moral reversal effected by narrative reversal. Finally I will examine the influence of Robert Jay Lifton's The Nazi Doctors on Time's Arrow. By applying Lifton's theory of psychological doubling to the novel, the close connections between form and content will once again be highlighted.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Augsburg, course: Literature and the Holocaust, 12 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The problem of finding appropriate ways to represent the Holocaust has been haunting Holocaust literature ever since Theodor Adorno's famous dictum that there cannot be any poetry after Auschwitz. In fact, the uniqueness of the Holocaust raises serious ethical questions whether there can be any appropriate representation of these atrocious events at all. As the horror of Auschwitz goes beyond human imagination, the problem boils down to the one question: How can you imagine the unimaginable? Martin Amis's novel Time's Arrow or the Nature of the Offence (1991) has a rather bold answer to this question: by narrating it backwards. In the novel, the story of the Nazi doctor Odilo Unverdorben is narrated vice versa, following his life from end to start through the eyes of a ghostlike narrator who emerges at the point of his death. As the technique of backward narration distinguishes Time's Arrow from almost any other Holocaust fiction, in the following my focus will be on the novel's use of narrative reversal to represent the Holocaust. I will argue that the technique of backward narration offers a way to make sense of the Holocaust and Nazism in general, thereby showing that the novel's form and content are inseparably linked. In order to do this, I will first go over some of the negative criticism that Time's Arrow was exposed to, focusing on the problem of form and content. I will then show how backward narration offers a solution to specific problems in Holocaust literature and how it helps to avoid the danger of aestheticising Auschwitz. After that, I will point out that backward narration can help to understand the Holocaust, exploring the connections between Nazism and the temporal and moral reversal effected by narrative reversal. Finally I will examine the influence of Robert Jay Lifton's The Nazi Doctors on Time's Arrow. By applying Lifton's theory of psychological doubling to the novel, the close connections between form and content will once again be highlighted.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Solving the EU's democratic deficit through direct democratic veto rights? A critical assessment of Heidrun Abromeit's concept by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Drawing rings around the world - The acquisition of meaning by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book A better life for child labourers and their families in Egypt by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Unemployment of low-skill workers in Germany - Would an earned income tax implemented on the EU level help to strengthen their position? by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Maintaining a Global Communication Network by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book The performance of private equity by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book The Legislatures of the United States And Germany. A Comparison by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book How do the ideas of economic theory help us to understand the operation of interfirm collaboration such as joint ventures and alliances by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Green Issues - What are the Benefits of Environmental Management by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Summum Unum. The Diversity Of Life by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Corporate Valuation of the E.ON AG by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book A structural clash of perspectives. Irreconcilable contradictions in Tom Stoppard's drama 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book How to Reach Minimum Delay Times in Networked Collaborative Musical Performances by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Untersuchung zur Lern- und Arbeitseinstellung zum Englischunterricht in einer 7. Hauptschulklasse mittels der Herstellung von Lernspielen zum Thema Wortschatz by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Völkermord by Thomas Neumann
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy