Representations of war : agency, resilience, and empowerment through storytelling in young adult literary worlds

Abstract

This dissertation examines the role of storytelling as depicted in Young Adult (YA) Holocaust literature, exploring how narratives empower young characters and readers to handle moral dilemmas, demonstrate resilience, and assert agency in times of hardship. By combining literary analysis with trauma theory, pedagogical approaches, ethics and theories of otherness, the study explores the life-changing capabilities of storytelling as a mechanism for coping with trauma, teaching the past, and cultivating empathy. Drawing on three YA Holocaust novels, The Book Thief(2005), Once(2006), and Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit(1971), the research analyses narrative techniques, thematic motifs, and ethical considerations surrounding the portrayal of war. It also engages with scholarly discourse, such as a) Cathy Caruth and James Pennebaker on trauma and narratives as a therapeutic tool, b) Kenneth Kidd, Elizabeth Baer, and Barbara J Epstein on the ethics of portraying the Holocaust to children, c) Theodore Adorno on the ethics of writing about the Holocaust, and d) Perry Nodelman and Edward Said on Orientalism and theories of otherness, about the moral obligations of readers and educators in teaching and safeguarding the memory of the Holocaust, primarily focusing on the concerns around the depiction of trauma and the complexities of sharing historical knowledge with younger audiences.