The journey of Self-recognition in literature

Slovakia, ID CLEaR2015-306;

Self-recognition is a very complex issue. Regardless some specific features and predispositions that we are born with, all of us have to go a long way first in order to find out who we are and how we perceive ourselves in particular circumstances and periods of our life. The submitted paper concentrates on the motif of journey in selected literary works in relation to real life. It depicts and analyses the journey of the protagonists both in its literal as well as metaphorical meaning, as a journey of their personal growth and self-recognition, as a means of finding what they might have even possessed but were never aware of. Apart from focusing on the identity search of the protagonists of these literary works, the paper also discusses the affective function of literature and its possible impact on the personal growth of the reader.

Key words: self-recognition, quest, journey, personal growth, affective function