Britsh Jewish Literature
When looking back on a significant event in history, or even just one's life, there are usually two perspectives. First of all, the event can be something that has been accepted. One does not necessarily have to take pride in it, but they will not ignore the fact that it happened, it's a part of life. In this case, the event is not brought up on a day to day basis, but when it is, the person who lived through it can deal with it and does not become disturbed. The second outlook is that one would want to forget it ever happened at all. In this case the person tries to put it behind them, and in doing so, it really disturbs them. When the event is brought up, it hurts, and it could even in some instances hurt the person on a day to day basis. It may not be a conscious thing, but it could be at times. When we look at British-Jewish literature, we can see the Holocaust as this significant event in history. This literature is definitely post-Holocaust literature in that these two perspectives are taken on in many works. While assessing a couple of books, we will run into people who try to act as if the Holocaust never affected them, while it has, as well as ones who accept that the Holocaust happened, and it was a rather la
As we look at Evelyn in the present, we see a very strong woman who has chosen to forget her past and the things that happened to her. She has many memories packed away in a box, but she chooses to leave them this way. Evelyn lives her life as though she has always been English, and lets nobody in to see her past. Although it is not seen directly through Evelyn until pressed by her daughter, she shows signs of her past affecting her. As Evelyn's daughter Faith once said, "You can't go on a train without hyper-ventilating. You cross the road if you see a policeman or traffic warden." This is completely related to her past although it is not noticed as that by most of her family and friends. Every time Eva was put on a train, it was to be sent away from the ones she loved, and every time she saw men in uniform, it was always German police, who were not seen as good people in a Jewish persons eyes. As we look at these two works of literature, it is clearly evident that they can be defined as post-Holocaust literature. The three main characters spoken about, Evelyn, Thomas Hartmann and Thomas Fibich all have their own ways of dealing with their past. It is known in both works that the Holocaust is 'the past' from the beginning of each novel. If it is not directly stated, it is implied. Thomas Hartmann is the one character in this grouping who is able to accept his past. He doesn't make it a point to completely forget it, yet he doesn't make it a huge part of life. The Holocaust was just an event of his childhood and as he gets older he wants to understand the ghosts of his past. Thomas Fibich, on the other hand, is extremely troubled by his past. He wants to forget it, but he just can't seem to get certain memories out of his head. Fibich eventually comes to terms with his past, but after a very troublesome life. Looking at Kindertransport again, Evelyn sees the past in a similar way to Fibich. She wants to forget it ever happened. In contrast to Fibich, it isn't constantly in the back of her head until her daughter discovers the truth. Evelyn is extremely reluctant to talk about anything to do with her family and her life in Germany as a child. It even seems as though she wants to deny it ever happened, but she knew her daughter had found out the truth. The Latecomers, by Anita Brookner, is another good example of post-Holocaust literature. In this work we are exposed to two very different people who deal with their past in two very different w
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1678
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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