Sandra L. Bloom, author of “Trauma Theory Abbreviated” says, “...a coping skill that is useful for survival under conditions of traumatic stress can become a serious liability over time”. Unfortunately, these coping skills were not an option for Bone Boatwright. In Dorothy Allison’s Bastard out of Carolina we see the protagonist Bone Boatwright being left with almost no coping strategies to help her through the traumatic events she underwent as a child. In the novel, Bone experiences trauma through various social contexts. Most importantly, we see how impoverishment directly affects Bone’s relationship with her family and other elements of her life. These tarnished relationships make her incapable of having external resources to cope with the excessive amounts of trauma that …show more content…
She does not understand the lives of people with higher socioeconomic status than her. While many may think that this is a good thing because she will never know what to compare her life to, this actually instigates a problem for Bone. An example of this being a problem is her tarnished relationship with Shannon Pearl. Shannon and Bone never truly understand each others family dynamics, and this eventually causes an argument. Shannon says, “Everybody knows you’re all a bunch of drunks and thieves and bastards. Everybody knows you just come round so you can eat off my mama’s table and beg scraps we don’t want no more” (Allison 170). Although Shannon and Bone are both children, people who do not have much power, Shannon still has higher ground because of her socioeconomic status. Due to their poverty, the Boatwrights’ have always been looked down upon in society. It is often hard for Bone because she is always reminded of this fact. She turns to a friend to help her forget her low standing due to her poverty, but instead, she was reminded of her impoverished state and yet again, was left with no resources to help
As human beings evolve from infancy to elderly stages in life, times of struggle and hardship continually challenge their kin and personage; as life tests their mental fortitude and survival dexterity. In essays “My Father’s hands” by author Daisy Hernandez, and “Beginning Dialogues” by author Toi Derricotte, life and its whirl wind of ups and downs are expressed and exemplified. Both authors’ upbringings share various similarities on their evolutionary road trip through life. Struggling with hardship and abuse, how both authors’ dealt with their hardships, and how they ultimately survived/overcame these trying events, show similar correlations.
Jesmyn Ward, in her novel “Salvage the Bones”, has told the story of a family that lived in Mississippi when the incident of Hurricane Katrina occurred in 2005, getting back to her own memories of the Hurricane which she experienced in De Lisle, Mississippi. With the use of provocative symbolism throughout the novel, Ward has very interestingly narrated how the family suffered through the Hurricane, and how they spent their lives without any concern for the future. This paper probes into the symbolism and metaphors Ward used in the novel.
The War Within: Coping with Traumatic Stress in Lev Raphael's "The Tanteh" and Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried"
Tonier Cain, a nationally- known public speaker and traumatic event educator has inspired many women across the nation, she tells her story to audiences filled with men and women who specialize in substance abuse programs, mental health agencies, corrections facilities as well as trauma survivors and many more. Tonier, also known as Neen was introduced to the jail system at an early age and has a criminal record of 83 arrest followed by 66 convictions. Cain’s story is empowering, inspirational and unforgettable. As of today, her efforts to uplift women who have experienced trauma has given her a position as the team leader for the newly funded National Center for Trauma.
The characters in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones are faced with the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey each deal with the loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her own life. Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and instrumental grievers. Intuitive grievers communicate their emotional distress and “experience, express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level” (Doka, par. 27). Instrumental grievers focus their attention towards an activity, whether it is into work or into a hobby, usually relating to the loss (Doka par. 28). Although each character deals with
One of the most complex and elaborate characters in Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison is Bone. Throughout the story Bone has to live a life where she thinks that she is the leading mystery of the trouble being caused. She has numerous unhappy situations and is in no way self-satisfied with herself. She doesn’t appreciate who she is physically. She constantly thinks she is the most homely and dull person who causes the most inconvenience in the family. This sense of selflessness is mainly due to the physical and sexual abuse brought upon by Daddy Glen, Bone’s stepfather. Unfortunately, the assaults were stretched out over a long period of time, leaving little chance for Bone to recover as an adult if any at all. I decided to take
In the short story “Sea Oak,” George Saunders presents a family that is struggling with life in the poor neighborhood of Sea Oak. The narrator works as a male stripper in Joysticks, run by Mr. Frendt. The story also revolves around Auntie Bernie, who dies, resurrects, and dies again after advising the narrator, his sister Min, and their cousin Jade to adopt unorthodox and immoral means of making it in life. Two main themes that emerge in Saunders’ work are grief and loss that people suffer in life, and how the society teaches to deal with them, including the loss of a fruitful life, lack of wealth and success, as well as death.
The characters in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones are faced with the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey each deal with the loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her own life. Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and instrumental grievers. Intuitive grievers communicate their emotional distress and “experience, express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level” (Doka, par. 27). Instrumental grievers focus their attention towards an activity, whether it is into work or into a hobby, usually relating to the loss (Doka par. 28). Although each character deals with
A major result of the abuse reveals itself through Bone’s confusion of the true meaning of love. Her mother and the rest of the Boatwright’s show Bone a much different facet of love compared to Daddy Glen’s ideas. Daddy Glen constantly reminds Bone of how much he loves them all; however, she can’t understand why his love is manifested so strangely. She longs for the love of this “father figure”. Although, even his methods of abuse cloud her thinking, leaving her incapable of deciphering between pleasure and pain, especially shown in her masturbation.
Colson Whitehead once said, “Let the broken glass be broken glass, let it splinter into smaller pieces and dust and scatter. Let the cracks between things widen until they are no longer cracks but the new places for things”. In the memoir “The Glass Castle,” author Jeannette Walls faces despair and turmoil as a result of her impoverished and dysfunctional upbringing. As Jeannette grows up, she watches her father Rex fail to reach his full potential and his dream to build a Glass Castle shatter as his alcoholism takes control. Aware of the devastation her father was causing, she begins to slowly lose faith in him but doesn’t fail to escape her destructive household and pursue her dreams of becoming a journalist. Due to her parent’s lack of parenting and being forced to fend for herself, Jeannette developed a sense of responsibility to care for others and make amends to improve the family’s lifestyle. Despite the turbulence and destruction her parents had caused over the years, unlike her father, Jeannette was able to find the strength to overcome obstacles, developing characteristics that ultimately lead her to achieving her dream, thus illustrating that adversity has the power to shape one’s identity.
Many say that events, good and bad, from childhood shape a person’s future. Things like the death of a loved one, domestic violence, expectations and economic struggles can surely mould one's true self. However, the gap between finding the person they want to become and the one to avoid becoming is controlled solely by the way one chooses to handle these things in life. This is directly connected to the novel, Crow Lake by Mary Lawson, in which the life of Kate Morrison and her three siblings is depicted. The children are faced with tragedy when both their parents are killed in a fatal car accident and they are left orphaned to fend for themselves. The novel perfectly embodies what it takes to get through extremely tough times and push in order
This essay explores the story of Malaika Cohen and her account of experiencing and overcoming domestic abuse. In her book “Shackles” Malaika describes various forms of domestic abuse from life as a young child with a controlling Mother and a physically abusive Father which continued into her adult romantic relationships. It will highlight the changes to legislation since Malaika was a victim and how the meaning of domestic abuse has changed over the years. It will also take a look at behaviour patterns of children who grow up in a household with an alcoholic and how this can impact future relationships. Domestic abuse is often diagnosed under the banner of “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder”, this essay will look how this can have a negative
The effects of stress on a person’s life can be calamitous. It affects every part of a person’s body and makes them feel useless and alone. In essence, some stress every now and then in our lives is good, but an overwhelming amount of stress can be devastating. An example of overwhelming stress is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD. This disorder occurs when someone is exposed to horrific events in their life causing them severe and ongoing emotional damage due to the extreme psychological trauma. In her novel Beloved, Toni Morrison describes the brutal effects of slavery. The novel follows the story of Sethe and her daughter Denver, as they try to rebuild their lives after they escaped from slavery. After reading the
Abuse can have a large psychological effect on an individual. Both Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson and The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff demonstrate that abuse leads to mental instability within the characters. This is evident through the literary criticism of the psychological lens shown in the behaviour of the characters in relation to many of Freud’s theories. Some of these theories included the Oedipus complex, the interpretation of dreams and the unconscious mind (Britannica Encyclopedia, 2014). Both authors demonstrate this through three types of abuse; substance abuse, verbal abuse and neglect.
The death of a loved one can result in a trauma where the painful experience causes a psychological scar. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones explores the different ways in which people process grief when they lose a loved one. When young Susie Salmon is killed on her way home from school, the remaining four members of her family all deal differently with their grief. After Susie’s death, her mother, Abigail Salmon, endures the adversity of losing her daughter, her family collapsing, and accepting the loss of the life she never had the opportunity to live. Abigail uses Freud’s defence mechanisms to repress wounds, fears, her guilty desires, and to resolve conflicts, which results in her alienation and