Critical Discourse Analysis of Selected Passages from the Novel ''The War that Saved my Life''
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31185/lark.4574Abstract
This study uses Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine selected excerpts from Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's book, The War That Saved My Life. This study investigates the role of language in establishing and maintaining power dynamics, social hierarchies, and concepts within the narrative, utilising theoretical frameworks developed by Norman Fairclough, Teun A. van Dijk, and Ruth Wodak. The research focusses on five significant works that illuminate themes of power dynamics and abuse, disability and identity, control mechanisms, social exclusion, and internalised oppression. Analysing these passages at the micro (textual), meso (discursive practice), and macro (social practice) levels demonstrates how the protagonist Ada's experiences reflect broader societal attitudes towards disability in pre-WWII Britain. The findings demonstrate how Ada cultivates resistance strategies through alternative discourses, so constructing and sustaining power hierarchies using linguistic features such as dehumanising labels, possessive language, and contrastive structures. This study elucidates how literary works may illuminate the interplay between language, power, and social injustice, particularly in contexts involving vulnerable populations and marginalised identities
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