Images of the Jews in the Work of Vojtěch Rakous

This bachelor thesis analyses and interprets the literary works of the Czech writer Vojtěch Rakous. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of characters who are portrayed as Jewish. In the literary interpretation a sociological point of view is applied. The first chapter defines the Jewish people and deals with the history of Jews in the Czech lands. Special attention is paid to the process of emancipation and assimilation of Czech Jews. Two main ideological streams of Czech Jews are also described - the Czech-Jewish movement and Zionism. The second chapter presents biographical information about Vojtěch Rakous and shows his Czech-Jewish ideas and opinions and explains his perception of his own identity. The third chapter prepares the literary theoretical basis for the interpretation of literary characters. It addresses the question of what a literary character is, what narrative practices it is made up of. In particular, the realistic poetics of the literary character are taken into account. The fourth chapter analyses the material of the stories of Vojtěch Rakous and interprets the figures of the Jews. Jewish figures in this chapter are categorised according to social criteria into the following literary types: Jewish married couples, Christian-Jewish friends, rich Jews, poor Jews,..