Interpretation and Methodological Approach to the Novel Jean or the Smell of Death by Nevenka Nekić

U radu je analiziran i interpretiran povijesni roman Nevenke Nekić Jean ili miris smrti. Roman govori o posljednjim mjesecima Jean-Michela Nicoliera, mladoga francuskoga dragovoljca koji se na strani Republike Hrvatske borio u Domovinskome ratu. U prvome dijelu rada objašnjen je povijesni kontekst zbivanja usred kojih se našao Jean, glavni lik romana. Riječ je o jeseni 1991. u ratnome Vukovaru. Tekst analizira Jeanova proživljavanja, opreke u romanu, značenje pojedinih motiva i metafora te njihovu simboliku. Pritom se motivi povezuju sa stvarnim događajima u Vukovaru 1991. te s pojedinim opisima drugih djela hrvatskoga ratnoga pisma koja govore o bitci za Vukovar. U radu je istaknuta uloga biblijskoga interteksta te način oslikavanja strašnih proživljavanja čime se naglašava njihova jedinstvenost, ali i univerzalna poruka. Tekst interpretira i način na koji se autorica poistovjetila i povezala s glavnim likom romana koji svojom ljudskošću i žrtvom nadilazi svoj nacionalni identitet i postaje našim. U završnom dijelu teksta nalazi se osvrt na predavanja o romanu i anketu održanu u travnju i svibnju 2019. godine u četvrtim razredima dvije zagrebačke gimnazije.The paper analyzes and interprets Nevenka Nekić's historical novel "Jean or the Smell of Death". The novel deals with the final months of Jean-Michel Nicolier, a young French volunteer who fought for Croatia in the Homeland War. The first part of the paper sheds light on the historical context behind the events of the war in which Jean, the protagonist, finds himself. The novel is set in the Fall of 1991 in wartime Vukovar. The paper examines Jean's experiences, dichotomies present in the novel, as well as certain motifs, metaphors and their symbolic meaning. In doing so, those motifs are brought into relation with actual events that transpired in Vukovar in 1991 and descriptions given in other works of Croatian wartime literature depicting the Battle of Vukovar. Particular attention is given to intertextual connections to the Bible, as well as to the methods of depicting atrocities whose uniqueness and universality are emphasized. The paper also interprets the way in which the author related and connected with the novel's protagonist, who, through his humaneness and sacrifice, transcends his national identity and becomes ours. The final part of the paper contains a questionnaire and overview of two classes in which the novel was discussed with fourth-year students in two Zagreb gymnasiums in April and May of 2019