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Abstract: Life brings many wonderful and happy moments; on the other hand, we have to deal with various problems and sad moments. Many of these difficult moments include disease and death, especially when they affect our family members or people around us. Not only adults, but particularly children and juveniles have problems speaking and thinking about death. By reading a variety of literary works that address this theme, I began to wonder how people deal with the death of their close ones, how they grieve and the inevitability of how they accept their own death. I also wondered if death is realistically presented in literature. Therefore, I have decided to analyse selected works of fiction where death appears as a main motif or theme. By reading articles and studies about concept literature for young adults, I began to wonder if death was still perceived as a taboo in young adult literature and how various authors addressed these difficult topics. This question forms the starting point of the research. In the empirical section, I explore (on the basis of a selection of novels) whether death is presented as a taboo or only as a problem in the life of literary characters as a part of concept literature, and whether death in literature is presented as it is perceived by the young adults in our society. Through the analysis, I sought to prove that selected young adult literature reflects modern society. I assume that death is no longer a taboo for adolescents, and they can talk about it without restraint. Since death appears as a leading motif in many literary works, I posit that death is just a morally sensitive topic that allows discussion and perception on multiple levels. I tried to show how various authors verbalize their perception of death.
Keywords: death, taboo, literature, young adult literature, society
Published in DKUM: 07.03.2018; Views: 1726; Downloads: 168
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