Animalistic Attributes to Humans in the Greek Post-war Prose: From Realism to Modernism

Abstract

This article analyzes the reasons, the means and the potential of using animalistic characteristics in the description of humans in Greek post-war prose (G.P-W.P). It deploys several seminal works of the Greek writers Nikos Kasdaglis, Alexandros Kotzias and Spyros Plaskovitis using specific criteria for their selection. The analysis of the works reveals that the animalistic motif is used to show the dehumanization of humans, caused by the extreme social conditions during World War II and the post-war era, which marked this generation of writers, and its allegorical dimension.