A Psychological Study of Morality in Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller Novel in Light of Just War Theory

Abstract

This thesis explores themes related to morality, including moral and legal responsibility and justice, in Jodi Picoult’s novel, The Storyteller (2013). The novel presents moral conundrums through detailed accounts narrated by Josef, a former Nazi and perpetrator; Minka, a Holocaust survivor; and Sage, the granddaughter of Minka, each offering a distinct narrative viewpoint. The presence of detailed accounts, especially that of a perpetrator, gives rise to a tangle of conflicting moral responses and leaves readers with a sense of moral ambivalence. The objective of the thesis is to examine whether and to what extent the ordinary individuals, as depicted in the novel, who perpetrated Holocaust atrocities under the influence of Nazi ideologies were culpable within the framework of Revisionist Just War theory by Alejandro Chehtman (2017). Furthermore, this study draws on James Waller’s model, which is grounded in Evolutionary Psychology, to examine the portrayal of evil in the novel and to explore the psychological conditions that the characters of Josef and Franz were subjected to while growing up in Nazi Germany. This thesis suggests that the conditions under which individuals can come to commit acts of cruelty, when examined through the lens of Revisionist Just War theory as a part of the broader Just War tradition, do not absolve the perpetrator of moral and legal culpability. This thesis explores the factors that contribute to the transformation of ordinary individuals into perpetrators of violence, suggesting that such understanding may serve as a safeguard against the influence of propaganda.