Literary Analysis of Chapter 2 from Fatelessness

1. Title of selection: "Fatelessness" - Chapter 2

2. Author: Imre Kertész

3. Genre: Autobiographical Novel

4. Setting: Hungary, Budapest. Neighborhood where Georg lives, at his mother's house.

5. Historical Context: German Occupation of Hungary during the Second World War. Jewish people are forced to live within the standards and laws of the Nazi regime.

6. The author wrote this piece to (author's purpose): Give account of the first days of Georg's without his father living with him. 

7. The main idea of this peace is: to demonstrate how Georg transformed from a boy with no problems to one struggling because of Nazi regime.

8. The message (or theme) of this selection which the author would like us to "take away" is: that there are changes for good or bad in life, and experience is a path full of horror that eventually ends in happiness.

9. Characters:

• Protagonist(s): Georg Koves
• Antagonist(s): Nazi Regime
• Static Characters: Mr Sütó
• Dynamic Characters: Georg, Annamarie

10. Did the author use any special literary devices in this selection such as: personification, metaphor, simile, foreshadowing, suspense, flashback, imagery, humour, poetic sound devices such as rhyme, etc. List and give specific examples.

A. The story "The Prince and the Pauper" about a prince and a beggar who physically look exactly the same and swap places, is used by Georg as an allusion to the idea of acknowledging one's "differentness" in terms of the circumstances that you are forced to live: (pp. 36 and 37) "Then again, I had also read a book, a sort of novel, not long ago. A beggar and a prince..."

The narrator uses this example to clarify his point of view towards the Jewish state of being "different" as a merely circumstancial event that should not bring them down, in opposition to what the older neighbouring sister thinks. It is most likely used to represent the lightness of thought and somehow naïvety of the main character regarding the treatment that Jewish people received due to the Nazi Regime.

B. The narrator uses a flashback to tell his first love encounter with Annamarie (p.32) "The incident occured the day before yesterday..." This technique is likely used by the author to give it a sense of remembrance, to show the importance that this event gained in his heart and mind and that now lives as a memory.

11. What was the author's "tone" towards the subject/person/idea he/she wrote about?

The author's tone while retelling the events from chapter 2 is quite matter-of-fact and straight-forward:

"This evening too I was with her in the other room to look at the Fleischmanns' ornamental fish, because in truth we have frequently been in the habit of looking at them at other times anyway. This time, of course, that was not quite the only reason for us to got here. We made use of our tongues as well" (p33) He shows himself very direct when giving account of the events that took place when he met with his mother, his first love encounter (like in the quote above), his awkward discussion with the neighbouring older sister, and his first quarrel with Annemarie.

12. What "point of view" was this piece told from? List clues that indicate this.

The point of view used was 1st person, as it is a recount of personal events in the narrator's life. "Already two months have passed since we said good bye to Father (...) For the last two weeks I myself have been obliged to work" (p27)

13.List the conflicts in this section (internal and/or external)

External: Georg vs his mother: on the subject of "belonging" and "attachment".  "...my mother was badgering me about what kind of life I want to live, because in her view all that matters are my wishes and whether or not I love her:" (p31) Georg's mother wants him to move with her and abandon his stepmother, moreover given the new circumstances (both Gerog's father and his mother's husband have been sent to labour camps)

Internal: Gerog's internal struggle on what to do regarding his mother's feelings "I came away feeling rather troubled: naturally I could not allow her to go on supposing that I didn't love her, but then on the other hand I could not take entirely seriously what she had said about the importance of my wishes..."(p31)

External: Georg vs older sister (Annamarie's friend): "Still, there was something in her line of thought that somehow exasperated me; in my opinion, it's all a lot simpler" . this conflict arises from the clash of views on the concept of "differentness" and why people "hate" Jews.