THE CONCEPTUAL DICHOTOMY OF “LIFE AND DEATH” IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION (BASED ON ANTHONY DOERR’S NOVEL “ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE”)

Abstract

The article presents a multifaceted analysis of the conceptual dichotomy “life and death” in Anthony Doerr’s novel “All the Light We Cannot See”, which we examine as a paradigmatic text of contemporary American historical fiction. The study offers a comprehensive analysis of the artistic realization of this ontological opposition within the context of the literary representation of World War II events. The methodological framework of our research is based on the integrated application of conceptual and lexico-stylistic analysis to examine the textual manifestation of the studied dichotomy and its functional significance in revealing the war-related and existential discourses of the work. Through theoretical consideration of the genre-specific features of contemporary historical fiction and the nature of conceptual dichotomies, their role in shaping modern literary processes is delineated. The article provides a detailed analysis of the artistic realization of the concepts “life” and “death” as meaning-forming dominants of the novel’s ideological and thematic level, most fully revealed through the character of Reinhold von Rumpel. The study examines the system of tropes and stylistic figures (symbols, metaphors, contrastive descriptions, oxymorons, repetitions) that actualize this dichotomy and enhance the psychological depth of the narrative. The research establishes that the conceptual dichotomy “life and death” functions as a key narrative mechanism that explicates the dynamics of characters’ psychological transformations, their psychoemotional and somatic states, determines the plot trajectory, and forms the atmospheric continuum of the novel’s artistic space. The examined conceptual dichotomy articulates the philosophical problematics of the work through the juxtaposition of life-affirming principles and thanatological experience. Consequently, the novel demonstrates an organic synthesis of historical narrative about World War II that resonates with contemporary times, existential reflections, and representations of everyday life amid global catastrophe.