ipl-logo

Cathy Caruth's Theory Of Psychological Trauma

1339 Words6 Pages

Introduction Trauma has been called a symptom of the age (Miller and Tougaw 1), and the twentieth century has been marked as an era of "historical trauma," incorporating "occasions for communal mourning too numerous to chronicle" (Henke xi). This study aims at investigating the theory of psychological trauma resulting from war by analyzing selected works by Tim O'Brien and Larry Heinemann. In Caruth’s view, there is no solid definition for psychological trauma. She contends that, at different times, different descriptions have been given to severe emotional shock, most of them under different names (Caruth, Unclaimed Experience 117). In Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative and History, Cathy Caruth defines trauma as "the response to an …show more content…

After the Vietnam War was over, the Veterans’ Administration authorized an extensive investigation into the effects of wartime experiences on the lives of combatants who were returning home. An in-depth research into the aftermath of Vietnam described the syndrome of “post-traumatic stress disorder” and definitely proved its close connection to “combat exposure.” Both the authentic moral nature of the antiwar crusade and the awful American realization of defeat in a defamed war had enabled the recognition of psychological trauma as a permanent heritage of the Vietnam War. Herman asserts that, “in 1980, for the first time, the characteristic syndrome of psychological trauma became a “real” diagnosis” (Herman 27-28). According to Cathy Caruth, at long last, in 1980, the American Psychiatric Association decided to recognize and include in the new edition of its official diagnostic manual of mental disorders a new category: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. This designation came to comprise signs of illnesses which had been called shell shock, battle fatigue, combat neurosis, or traumatic neurosis throughout the twentieth century and related to reactions to both disasters of nature and atrocities produced by human beings (Caruth, Unclaimed Experience

Show More
Related
1158 Words | 5 Pages

In “The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell”, John Crawford shows how war can drastically change soldiers by having psychological effects on them and when soldiers come back from war they can feel like they are alone. Some psychological effects are post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, depression,

Read More
574 Words | 3 Pages

When the doctor sees all the shrapnel and debris, a story arises from the soldier’s scars (8-9). The speaker affirms that these physical scars did not come about on their own; another person caused them while the soldier was touring in the Middle East. To better describe the scene of the attack on the soldier, the speaker employs an image of the soldier’s female attacker yelling with her “roughened larynx” right before attacking him to incite a chilling response from the reader (12-13). This woman, who is clearly trying to kill the American soldier, gives the soldier a “dark and lasting gift” of physical and mental suffering that causes the soldier to undergo this operation several years later (16). Indeed, the physical scars embedded in the soldier’s skin cab regale this story with the fragments of the woman’s attack (17-18).

Read More
1509 Words | 7 Pages

Mulisch’s novel The Assault delineates the lasting impact of trauma, and the darkness trauma accompanies, even in the presence of light. As a novel narrated during and after the Second World War, Mulisch highlights the traumatic effects one event can have on a whole nation. These effects are demonstrated through the protagonist Anton, who suffers the consequences of his family’s murder. Towards the end of the war, members of the anti-Nazi resistance ambush a Nazi police inspector in front of Anton’s house. In revenge, the Nazis burn Anton’s house, killing his entire family.

Read More
560 Words | 3 Pages

During the Battle of the Bulge, soldiers fought in “grueling physical and psychological conditions” that led to persistent struggles after the war with remembering these conditions (Intro: Battle of the Bulge). Many veterans refer to the immediate effects of returning as the “shock of peace” (Childers). However, despite these widespread mental health problems, there were few psychiatrists to treat these soldiers as well as a “cultural ethos” that discouraged discussing emotions, especially among men (Childers). When soldiers returned home, they often had difficulty with finances.

Read More
761 Words | 4 Pages

War and its affinities have various emotional effects on different individuals, whether facing adversity within the war or when experiencing the psychological aftermath. Some people cave under the pressure when put in a situation where there is minimal hope or optimism. Two characters that experience

Read More
3223 Words | 13 Pages

A Psychoanalysis on The Wars In human history, war has greatly affected the lives of people in an extremely detrimental way which can be understood in Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars through a psychoanalytic approach in character development and their deterioration; the readers are able to identify the loss of innocence intertwined between characters, the search for self-identity in the symbolic and metaphorical aspect, as well as the essence of life. Those that are not able to overcome these mental challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Rape trauma Syndrome, and sadly, some resort to suicide as the last option to escape their insecurities. However, soldiers are not the only ones affected by war; family members also face

Read More
1459 Words | 6 Pages

Approximately 20% of all war veterans suffer from a mental disorder called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short. This continues to affect many soldiers, just like it did in the past. For instance, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a first-person narrative set during World War I about a young boy and his friends’ journey to the battlefield. An anti war propaganda, Remarque’s novel debates the corruption of WWI. However, this novel can be used in connection with almost any war, regardless of the time period; many say that older ones, such as WWI, were extremely different than current ones.

Read More
774 Words | 4 Pages

War has a profound and lasting impact on individuals and society. In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, he tells different stories of before, during and after war and how it affects the soldiers, mentally and physically. In these stories Tim O’Brien illustrates these traumas and the long-lasting effects and impact that the war will always have on these men. Even though all the men didn’t survive the ones that did continue to have traumatic flashbacks. War has a lasting impact on individuals and society, affecting not only the physical but the mental and emotional well-being of those involved.

Read More
1504 Words | 7 Pages

The novel focuses on coping with the death and horror of war. It also speaks volumes about the true nature of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the never-ending struggle of dealing with it. In the

Read More
144 Words | 1 Pages

Using Warton documentary is a perfect example of explaining combat veterans experience with direct exposure to an event (s) and or witnessing traumatic event (Warton, 1861-2010). Warton documentary brings urgent attention to combat veterans’ invisible wounds of war and horrors of their experiences with battle and PTSD, the documentary draws personal stories of combat veterans going back since the 1918s, who either participated in killing people and or witnessing the death of others (Warton, 1861-2010). Similarly, research examination on PTSD symptoms in combat veterans returning from Afghan and Iraq, suggests that deployment and redeployment experiences often consists of multiple exposures to war-zone related traumatic incidents such as;

Read More
556 Words | 3 Pages

In Jane Brody’s alarming article, “War Wounds That Time Alone Can’t Heal” Brody describes the intense and devastating pain some soldiers go through on a daily basis. These soldiers come home from a tragic time during war or, have vivid memories of unimaginable sufferings they began to experience in the battle field. As a result these soldiers suffer from, “emotional agony and self-destructive aftermath of moral injury…” (Brody). Moral injury has caused much emotional and physical pain for men and women from the war.

Read More
1168 Words | 5 Pages

At Fredericksburg and Petersburg, Inman witnesses casualties, inflicts wounds, and receives injuries. Not only was close combat immensely painful, but one could distinguish the characteristics of the enemy. Men fought with, and against, young boys. Emotions brew, but since it was unmasculine to display those of weakness, some men struggle with inner thoughts provoked by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

The True Weight of War “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, brings to light the psychological impact of what soldiers go through during times of war. We learn that the effects of traumatic events weigh heavier on the minds of men than all of the provisions and equipment they shouldered. Wartime truly tests the human body and and mind, to the point where some men return home completely destroyed. Some soldiers have been driven to the point of mentally altering reality in order to survive day to day. An indefinite number of men became numb to the deaths of their comrades, and yet secretly desired to die and bring a conclusion to their misery.

Read More
809 Words | 4 Pages

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried During the turbulent times of the Vietnam War, thousands of young men entered the warzone and came face-to-face with unimaginable scenes of death, destruction, and turmoil. While some perished in the dense Asian jungles, others returned to American soil and were forced to confront their lingering combat trauma. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried provides distinct instances of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and reveals the psychological trauma felt by soldiers in the Vietnam War. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD for short, is the most common mental illness affecting soldiers both on and off the battlefield.

Read More
145 Words | 1 Pages

DeMeester used the article explain the trauma and recovery in modern past was books. DeMeester sees the Septimus’ character established the paradigm of the shell shock war veterans and reveal the tragedy of post war reintegration. Woolf added the outlook of a psychological condition named post- traumatic stress disorder. DeMeester comments; “In her novel, Woolf depicts a psychological condition which scientist would not understand until half a century later, and her stream of circumstances narrative, brilliantly illustrate the fragment mind of trauma victim and survivor.

Read More

More about Cathy Caruth's Theory Of Psychological Trauma

Related Topics

Open Document