THE CONVENTIONS OF HOLOCAUST LITERATURE IN MARKUS ZUSAK’S THE BOOK THIEF

Abstract

Abstract

This research is aimed  to find the conventions  of Holocaust literature applied in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief and the disturbing elements of the convention which are less or not represented in the novel. This research is a qualitative research. The main source of the data was a novel entitled The Book Thief and the data was the expressions related to the conventions of Holocaust literature. The primary instrument was the researcher himself whereas the second instruments were any devices and media which were used in the data collection and data analysis process. The analysis of the data was conducted in six steps; reading and rereading, noting, identifying, categorizing, analyzing and interpreting. To ensure the data trustworthiness, the researcher used peer debriefing. The findings of this research show that the conventions of Holocaust literature are implemented in the novel. Those are depicting the Holocaust event, representing the perpetrators, the victims, and the bystanders, and employing disturbing elements (violence, hunger, rebellion, sense of loss and abandonment, loneliness, and loss of emotional stability). There are also the elements which are less and not represented. These are shame, hope and redemption, and spirituality. The novel depicts the struggle to live in the time when Holocaust occurred, but not in the part of seeking consolation from the higher power (god).

Keywords: Conventions, Holocaust Literature, Structuralism, The Book Thief