Date of Award
Spring 5-3-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Mark Axelrod
Second Advisor
Joanna Levin
Third Advisor
Justine Van Meter
Abstract
For centuries, people have been telling stories of the traumatic events in their lives in order to deal with the lasting effects of those traumas. This thesis will explore the way Gábor Schein applies this belief to his own writing by focusing on his protagonists’ connection with the Holocaust. In his novels, The Book of Mordechai and Lazarus, Schein uses the protagonists to reveal the process of recovery through storytelling. By applying the theory of narrative therapy to Schein’s writings, it becomes apparent how vital the moments of sharing are for those suffering from trauma. Schein’s protagonists have suffered several forms of mental and physical displacement, but they find a new home and sense of community with the people that they share their stories. Many studies have been done on the effect that trauma has on memory and how those memories, no matter how terrible they may be, can be shared with happiness. Schein’s protagonists engage in social sharing of their stories to build off of each other’s memories and regain a semblance of the community they lost.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Capriotti, Duncan. A Way to Persist: Storytelling and Its Effect on Trauma in Gábor Schein’s The Book of Mordechai and Lazarus. 2019. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons, https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000034