| dc.description.abstract | From the 1990s to the late 2000s, Ireland experienced rapid economic growth due to clever investments, and this period of prosperity has been nicknamed the Celtic Tiger. After the financial crisis of 2008, it became evident that not everyone in Irish society had benefited from the boom years, and research shows that the Irish social classes became more distinct as a result of the boom and the crash. This thesis explores how the Celtic Tiger changed Ireland in terms of class and society, and further how these changes are noticeable in Irish contemporary literature. Thus, this thesis presents a reading of the three novels The Forgotten Waltz (2011) written by Anne Enright, The Devil I Know (2012) written by Claire Kilroy, and Normal People written by Sally Rooney. These three novels were all published after the financial crash, exploring the consequences of the boom and further how the Celtic Tiger affected ordinary people and their relations with others. To support the analyses, this thesis uses Marxist literary theory as a theoretical framework, with a special focus on the thoughts and ideas of Georg Lukacs. | |