The Language of Death and the Death of Language: The Holocaust in Literature for Children and Young Adults Cover Image

Jezik smrti i smrt jezika: holokaust u književnosti za djecu i mlade
The Language of Death and the Death of Language: The Holocaust in Literature for Children and Young Adults

Author(s): Sanja Pajnić
Subject(s): Philosophy, Language and Literature Studies, Psychology, Studies of Literature, Theory of Literature
Published by: Hrvatska udruga istraživača dječje književnosti
Keywords: children´s literature; holocaust; language; young adult literature; narrator; death;

Summary/Abstract: In the literature for children and young adults, the motif of death is not uncommon, but it is usually not accepted as a final and permanent solution. This paper examines the narrative representation of death in chosen texts that deal with the Holocaust and include children and young people as narrators or characters. Taking these two principles into account – the narrative of death in the context of the real historical background of genocide, and emphasising children as narrators or characters – we presuppose a different indication of death, as well as narration about it. Here we also debate the power of language in dealing with this subject matter.

  • Issue Year: 4/2015
  • Issue No: 01
  • Page Range: 45-60
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Croatian