Depiction of the Holocaust in American Literature

Abstract

This master thesis discusses the depiction of the Holocaust in Art Spiegelman's Maus and in Cynthia Ozick's The Shawl. The theoretical part of this thesis explores the origins of the Holocaust and introduces the Holocaust literature and the Second-Generation Holocaust literature. It also explores the trauma theory that is later used in the analysis of the books. The analytical part is focused on the manifestation of trauma and its transmission onto the second generation. Moreover, it determines the genre of Maus and explores the symbolism and the use of metaphors in both pieces of work.