10259 Fiction and Reality: Genres in the Israeli Short Story

Credits: 6 intermediate credits in Hebrew Literature

Prerequisites: none

Author: Orna Golan

The course examines major genres in Israeli prose fiction. Each genre is exemplified through the analysis of one or more stories. The relation of fiction to reality and the reaction of Israeli society as reflected in current criticism are also discussed.

Topics: General introduction; Aharon Meged, “Crying” – realism; Moshe Shamir, “Until Dawn” – social realism; Hanoch Bartov, “The Man” – the decline of realism; Moshe Shamir, “On His Horse on Saturday” – historical realism; S. Yizhar, “The Hostage” – didactic realism; Benjamin Tamuz, “Swimming Competition” – didactic story; Benjamin Tamuz, “Horizon” – lyrical story; S. Yizhar, “Havakuk” – lyrical story; Yitzhak Orpaz, “Nimrod Hunting Hero” – symbolic realism; Yitzhak Orpaz, “The Tomuzhena Street” – symbolic story; Yitzhak Oren, “The Resurrection Memorial” – fantastic story; Yitzhak Ben-Ner, “Atalia” – lyrical realism.