Reisen zum Ich

This study analyzes the issue of identity search among East German protagonists in four publications by authors from the former GDR. Through the act of traveling, their quest for identity and personal orientation is articulated. Especially during the societal transition period of the 1990s, the motif of travel becomes a characteristic of contemporary literature by numerous East German writers, as they metaphorically shape the movement in the minds of their protagonists through travel. Traveling, as an expression of the desire to discover a new environment, includes the redefinition of oneself through positioning in a foreign world. Thus, encountering the unfamiliar simultaneously means a redefinition of one's own self and, consequently, one's own identity. An introductory examination of questions regarding East German identity after 1990 is followed by a close textual analysis of the following authors and works concerning language design, meaning, and text form: Thomas Rosenlöcher (The Rediscovery of Walking while Hiking - Harz Journey, 1991), Angela Krauss (The High Flyer, 1995), Irina Liebmann (Last Summer in Germany. A Romantic Journey, 1997), and Bernd Wagner (Paradise, 1997).