This document discusses narrative theory and analysis of works by German author Heinrich Böll. It provides context about rubble literature that emerged after World War II to cope with the tragic aftermath. It highlights some of Böll's well-known works that fit this style, such as The Bread of those Early Years. The document also analyzes how Böll references Nietzsche's philosophy of eternal return and uses narrative techniques like irony, stretching time, and shifting perspectives.

1. Narrative Theory Analyzation of
Heinrich Böll
-Zuzanna Gos

2. Rubble Literature
(Trümmerliterartur)
• Literary movement that occurred in response
to World War II
• Very tragic and graphic
• Coping mechanism for many
• Mostly about the soldiers and POWs of this
time

3. Well-known Rubble Literature
• Wolfgang Borchert
– The Man Outside (1946)
– The Bread (1946)
• Heinrich Böll
– The Bread of those Early Years (1955)
– Stranger, Bear Word to the Spartans We... (1961)

4. Nietzsche & Civilization
• Böll references to Friedrich Nietzsche a
number of times and even referenced
Nietzsche’s common philosophy of the "repeat
all events indefinitely".
– Friedrich Nietzsche wrote many aphorisms that
represent this view, e.g. “Cycle of humanity“
– The narrator returns to a baby-like state for he
cannot speak, feed himself, walk, or do anything
at all

5. Irony
• Much progress in technology and in many
other industries around the world
• On the contrary, civilization being destroyed
by war, feeding into the return to barbarism

6. Pause & Stretching in Narrative Time
• “There was a fresh dark yellow spot on the
wall, cross-shaped, hard and clear, which was
almost seen even more clearly than the old,
weak, small cross itself, which they had
depended; clean and nicely remained the sign
of the cross on the faded whitewash the wall”
– Irony as well: contradicts Hitler’s attempts to
suppress and destroy Christianity

7. Narrative Perspective & Distance
• Just like the narrator, the reader knows not what
happens before or what will happen.
– Stretching
• Narrator describes a scene with great detail, slowing the narrative
time
– Pauses
• Narrator describes one single action with great detail, as if time
were frozen
– Direct thoughts
• Narrator “thinks” in first person – describes what he/she thinks in
present tense
– Direct speech
• Narrator uses direct dialogue in present tense

8. Thank you!