This book, titled in its original language as Der Zauerberg, was first published in 1924. Of all the German literature that has came out in the 20th century, this is still regarded as one of the most important and influential. The Magic Mountain Thomas Mann still holds up as a great book with many hidden messages that are still valuable today.
Mann spent twelve years working on the manuscript for this book. While he was working on it, his wife was experiencing issues with her lungs and was treated by doctors in Switzerland. During two months when he was visiting his wife, the author was inspired to form the foundation of the novel's opening chapter.
When the First World War broke out, Mann's work on this novel was interrupted. While this terrible conflict may have delayed the completion of the book, it also had a profound impact on it and was an essential experience of the author for the book to be what it was. This war and the turmoil that followed it caused the author to reassess many of his values and rewrite much of the book.
This type of story is known as a bildungsroman. This form of storytelling focuses on the transformative journey of the protagonist rather than the protagonist him or herself. The story told in this book is of a simple young man and his personal development over his formative years, focusing on all the experiences that come with this journey.
The irony in this book serves multiple purposes, being one of Mann's favorite literary devices to use. In defining the protagonist Hans Castorp as simplistic then revealing him to be not so simple after all, the author is making a statement about the underlying complexity of all people. The ironic simplification of reality for the hero also serves as a commentary on the complexity of life itself.
It is easy to see that disease is a major element of this book, but it is not always easy to see what the role of disease in the plot. Symbolically, disease represents a need to change, and in some cases to go on a spiritual journey. This is used to apply to both individuals and society itself. Through all this, Mann's highly used theme of the polarity of spirit and life is played out.
This is not a book that can be casually read and easily understood. It is highly cryptic, and there are so many separate symbolic chains of events that it is hard to keep track of them all. One thing to expect as a reader of this book is for the narration to ask him or her certain questions, which must be answered thoughtfully for the meaning to be caught.
The complexity of the book is in part due to the way the author uses both realism and symbolism alongside each other. This makes it hard to always tell what is symbolic and what isn't, and his use of irony makes it even harder. Mann's own recommendation was to read the book twice, so there is no shame in not understanding everything on the first read.
Mann spent twelve years working on the manuscript for this book. While he was working on it, his wife was experiencing issues with her lungs and was treated by doctors in Switzerland. During two months when he was visiting his wife, the author was inspired to form the foundation of the novel's opening chapter.
When the First World War broke out, Mann's work on this novel was interrupted. While this terrible conflict may have delayed the completion of the book, it also had a profound impact on it and was an essential experience of the author for the book to be what it was. This war and the turmoil that followed it caused the author to reassess many of his values and rewrite much of the book.
This type of story is known as a bildungsroman. This form of storytelling focuses on the transformative journey of the protagonist rather than the protagonist him or herself. The story told in this book is of a simple young man and his personal development over his formative years, focusing on all the experiences that come with this journey.
The irony in this book serves multiple purposes, being one of Mann's favorite literary devices to use. In defining the protagonist Hans Castorp as simplistic then revealing him to be not so simple after all, the author is making a statement about the underlying complexity of all people. The ironic simplification of reality for the hero also serves as a commentary on the complexity of life itself.
It is easy to see that disease is a major element of this book, but it is not always easy to see what the role of disease in the plot. Symbolically, disease represents a need to change, and in some cases to go on a spiritual journey. This is used to apply to both individuals and society itself. Through all this, Mann's highly used theme of the polarity of spirit and life is played out.
This is not a book that can be casually read and easily understood. It is highly cryptic, and there are so many separate symbolic chains of events that it is hard to keep track of them all. One thing to expect as a reader of this book is for the narration to ask him or her certain questions, which must be answered thoughtfully for the meaning to be caught.
The complexity of the book is in part due to the way the author uses both realism and symbolism alongside each other. This makes it hard to always tell what is symbolic and what isn't, and his use of irony makes it even harder. Mann's own recommendation was to read the book twice, so there is no shame in not understanding everything on the first read.
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