Auschwitz Has Formal Consequences: Imre Kertész and

Abstract

This thesis undertakes a formal analysis of the work of Hungarian Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertész. Looking at his four novels published in English, I argue that Kertész employs his experience in the concentration camps as a master metaphor for understanding contemporary society. Exploring the work of a variety of scholars, including linguist and philosopher Paul Ricoeur's treatise The Rule of Metaphor, I investigate how Kertész uses specific narrative strategies to create a new language commensurate with the ethical imperative to illuminate the meaning of existence in a post-Holocaust world.