Description
Book SynopsisThe study of self-realization as a primary literary theme covers a wide range of literature. The journey to self-discovery can be represented in many different forms, from novels of development to social criticism and to historical plays. It can provide the core of a basic literary form, such as a fairytale and the decision on crossroads of life. The self as a primary literary element can be identified as an axis of symmetry, similar to a central section of a wheel, which connects to all related themes. The description of space, setting, time, historical moment, and heritage shape all documentation of self-orientation. Thematic developments highlight specific appropriate locations for the unfolding story. By comparing works from different periods and examining manifestations of the theme in American, French, English, and German literature, this study traces the theme of self-realization in the coming-of-age constellation, the acceptance and the criticism of existing social condition
Table of Contents
Introduction – Figures at Cross- Roads – Self- Realization: Coming- of- Age. Search for Orientation. Experience of Reality. Journey – Integration: Controlling Destiny by Accepting Existing Social Conditions – Isolation: The Shattered Self – Criticism of Society – Figures Probing the Current Historical Situation: Understanding the Past. Blindness and Self- Insight– Self- Realization and Vision of the Future – Conclusion: Self As Axis – Bibliography – Author Index – Index of Examined Works.
