Fatelssness

"Remarkable... an original and chilling quality" - The New York Review of Books

"In his writing, Imre Kertész explores the possibility of continuing to live and think as an individual in an era in which the subjection of human beings to social forces has become increasingly complete... [He] upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history."- The Swedish Academy, The Nobel Prize in Literature 2002

Before analysing "Fatelessness" from the point of view of Texts and Contexts, let's review what the official IB Language and Literature Guide tells us:

Meaning in a text is shaped by culture and by the contexts of the circumstances of its production. It is also shaped by what the reader brings to it. Literary texts are not created in a vacuum but are influenced by social context, cultural heritage and historical change. 

Through the close reading of literary texts, students are able to consider the relationship between literature and issues at large, such as gender, power and identity. 

Students should be encouraged to consider how texts build upon and transform the inherited literary and cultural traditions. The compulsory study of translated texts encourages students to reflect on their own cultural assumptions through an examination of work produced in other languages and cultures (Fatelessness)

The study of Literature - texts and contexts - means that students will be able to meet the following learning outcomes:

1. Consider the changing historical, cultural and social contexts in which particular texts are written (produced) and received. Areas to be considered could include:

- the impact of different forms of publishing, for example, serialization 

- political pressure and censorship 

- dominant and minority groups 

- the role of the individual and family in society.

- the impact of prevailing values and beliefs.

- protest and polemic. 

2. Demonstrate how the formal elements of the text, genre and structure can not only be seen to influence meaning but can also be influenced by context. Aspects to be considered could include: 

- narrative technique

- characterization

- elements of style and structure

- poetic language

3. Understand the attitudes and values expressed by literary texts and their impact on readers. Students should be able to recognise that:

- there can be very different readings of the same text 

- the context of reception, including the individual reader, influences the way a text is read 

- different values may be in contention within a text.

"FATELESSNESS"

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