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 The Magic Of The 'One' - The 'One' As The Regulator Of Unity And Diversity by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book The process of change in the German wind industry by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Medienverantwortung und Medienmacht by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book English in South Africa by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Ideas of 'Managing' Natives in Stevenson's 'The Beach of Falesá' and Buchan's 'Prester John' by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Civil-military cooperation as a vital part in the stabilization-process in Afghanistan by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Interfacing Text and Paratexts: John Fowles´ 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book From Germany to the United States to Germany: Emigration and Remigration Between 1800 and 1914 by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Zentralbankinterventionen bei Liquiditätsschocks / Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). A Discussion about Benefits and Drawbacks by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Removal of a director under the British law by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book 1748-1763: The British East India Company in transition - from a trading company to a colonial power by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Hip Hop and the Media in the USA by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Reactions to the O.J. Simpson Verdict by Thomas Neumann
Cover of the book Serious Premise vs. Entertainment 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