Tzili (Masterplots II: World Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Aharon Appelfeld
- First Published: 1983
- Type of Work: Allegory
- Time of Work: During the Holocaust, starting c.1939
- Setting: Eastern Europe, from Poland or Russia to Yugoslavia
- Principal Characters: Tzili Kraus, Mark, Katerina, Linda
- Genres: Long fiction, Holocaust literature
- Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, Escapes, 1940’s, World War II, 1930’s, Jews or Jewish life, Oppression, Anti-Semitism, Eastern Europe or eastern Europeans, Holocaust, Jewish, Poland or Polish people, Judaism, Concentration camps
- Locales: Europe, Russia, Yugoslavia, Poland
The Novel
Tzili: The Story of a Life is an allegorical history of the faith and fate of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. The novel first traces the efforts of a poor family to ignore its Jewish heritage and assimilate into the Austrian culture. They demand secular academic excellence of their children while abandoning their cultural and religious Jewish heritage, including its emphasis on Jewish education and values. The focus then shifts to Tzili Kraus, the youngest child, whose anomalously innate ties to Judaism symbolize the strength of the archetypal...
[The entire page is 3150 words long]
