European or Muslim? Chosen and rejected identity in All Lara’s Wars by Wojciech Jagielski

Abstract

Since the second half of twentieth century identity has become one of the central problems in humanities. It is perceived as something to be discovered or constructed. A person lives in a world of values, one of which is one’s individual and collective identity. The aim of this article is to present (from the linguistic perspective) self-identity as value in Wojciech Jagielski’s reportage All Lara’s Wars. The article presents Szamil’s search for and discovery of his own identity, connected with the choice of specific values. These values determine Szamil’s decisions, such as involvement in the Syrian war. His axiological space is thus determined by religion. Divergent axiological hierarchies of Szamil and his mother Lara lead to conflict between them, which is shown here through the opposition of life and death.