In Louise Erdrich’s story “The Red Convertible” there is a recurring topic of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The author portrays the harsh realities that someone with PTSD experiences every day to bring about change. In other words, by Henry exhibiting emotions such as silence, aggression, and depression Louise Erdrich attempts to bring awareness and recognition to an issue that was not so spoken about in their time. One of the most prevalent symptoms that stem from PTSD is silence. In the story, Lyman states that after he returned from the war “[Henry] was very different” and that “He was quiet, so quiet.” This shows the tendency for victims to avoid situations as it brings up traumatic memories from the past and forces victims to relive them. In the case of “The Red Convertible” Henry was avoiding conversation with the ones around him and was lost in his mind reliving events of the war. This displays the torment and reanimation of events in ones mind that people with PTSD experience on a day-to-day. Whereas avoidance is a primary symptom of PTSD it is not the only one common among victims. …show more content…
This is shown when the two main characters, Henry and Lyman, engage in an aggressive altercation which was instigated by Henry. Lyman says that “[Henry grabbed his] jacket and ripped the arm loose.” This altercation negatively affected Lyman’s well-being, as his brother is the one who attacks him. which he never thought would come from someone so close to him, and ultimately Lyman felt betrayed. This portrays the potentially aggressive tendencies of victims, and how they can affect the ones around them, as shown in “The Red Convertible.” While aggression is a very visible symptom, some PTSD symptoms are less apparent to others until it is too
An example of a women dealing with PTSD is shown in the story The Train, by Mariette Kalinowski. “At times, when she was consumed by the tightness of Iraq and barely conscious on the train, she wondered if what she was feeling was ever her own, as though she were living someone else’s memories, transforming into another person.” (63) The protagonist is trying to recall what happened during her deployment. She recalls parts of what happened in Iraq but not all.
In Erdrich’s story, the convertible is something the two brothers worked on, enjoyed, and spent time together in, overall serving as symbolism for youth and innocence. While disclosing ways to help bring back Henry from his declining mental state with his family, Lyman “thought about the car… [he] thought the car might bring back the old Henry back somehow”(Erdrich). The car acts as the source of innocence that Henry carried with him before his deployment, Lyman feels that working on the car would bring that back. Thurber explores symbolism as well as Mitty going into daydreams during his everyday life that is often triggered by his surroundings and demonstrate something Mitty longs for in his life.
Near the end of Mary Downing Hahn’s December Stillness, a novel about a teenage girl named Kelly who tries to get to know and understand a homeless Vietnam veteran named Mr. Weems, there is a tragic event. Mr. Weems is killed in what seems like a tragic accident. However, even though his death was tragic, it was not an accident. He, like many other war veterans, was severely haunted by the acts which he and others had committed in Vietnam. Due to the trauma of the war and losses he suffers in the course of the book, it is clear that Mr. Weems’ death was not an accident.
Louise Erdrich’s short story, The Red Convertible, shows that the corruption of war dehumanizes man by exposing the harsh reality of the world. Henry’s inability to mentally recuperate from the war results from a shocking evil that he has unveiled in humanity. After experiencing war, a world centered around orders and commands, torture and pain, programmatic violence and mindless murder, where free will does not exist and men turn against each other, he perceives the world he once blindly admired as a deceitful illusion to mask the underlying cruelty of the world (50 words). Shattering the illusion subjects the individual to a bleak and meaningless life. Experiencing war bereaves man of his ability to interact with and enjoy the presence
The condition makes it extremely likely for them to lash out in fear, anger, or other strong emotions. If they sleep with the victim, they may be affected by the lack of sleep the victim is due to the severe night terrors that they have. A victim’s children may also be affected by ptsd, as the experience of watching a parent or guardian lash out, lose themselves, or act of sheer terror will affect the view of the parent, which can lead to strained relationships, subconscious resentment, and overall fear of their caretakers. “Numbness”, or inability to feel emotions is a major symptom of ptsd that can affect family members and caretakers. If a person is unable to be emotionally careful, responsive, or responsible, their mental state will become severely worse.
he effect of a horrific memory on a small fragile boy is clearly depicted in the book Fugitive Pieces by Ann Michaels. Furthermore, Jakob’s sister is used during his life to help him cope with the memories of the holocaust. He see’s her during his hallucinations because of his PTSD and is defiantly part of the reason why he is so traumatized. His nightmares continue from his childhood even into his adulthood. Because of the dramatic experiences Jakob has gone though he also becomes a writer of the future, in which he can help prevent such catastrophe’s from ever happening.
Captivity is defined as the state of being imprisoned or confined. A tragic experience is given a whole new perspective from Louise Erdrich 's poem, “Captivity”. Through descriptive imagery and a melancholic tone, we can see the poem and theme develop in her words. Erdrich takes a quote from Mary Rowlandson’s narrative about her imprisonment by the Native Americans and her response to this brings readers a different story based off of the epigraph. Louise Erdrich compiles various literary devices to convey her theme of sympathy, and her poem “Captivity” through specific and descriptive language brings a whole new meaning to Mary Rowlandson’s narrative.
In Maus, Art Spiegelman records his personal accounts of trying to delve into his father’s traumatic past. His father, Vladek, is a Jew from Poland who survived persecution during World War II. Art wants to create a graphic novel about what his father went through during the Holocaust, so he reconnects with Vladek in order to do so. Due to the horrifying things that the Jews went through he has trouble opening up completely about all the things that happened to him. But after Art gets together with his father many times, he is finally able to understand the past legacy of the Spiegelman family.
PTSD Then and Now PTSD is an issue that many characters have to face in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. PTSD stands for post-traumatic stress disorder and is a recognized mental illness today. During World War I, when this book takes place, PTSD was not a known illness. Because of this, in the past it was harder for soldiers to cope with the stress and anxiety of coming home from war than it is now. It still is nowhere close to easy for soldiers today, but there are treatment options available for soldiers with PTSD to make their homecoming easier.
This disconnect makes it hard for the military men to explain their experience and how one small death or win out of thousands can be so significant to them, when people on the other side see it as one of a million casualties. The war is not personified as it is with the soldiers who actually lived through it. Another soldier who feels detached from reality is Adam Schumann, who was put on countless medications to fix him with no help. After the war, Schumann has “lost all hope” and can’t live with himself, feeling that “the end is near for (him), very, very near. Day by
PTSD Affecting Soldiers He stood there, frozen, shocked, not knowing what to do when he saw a gun pointed at him. Thankfully, the trigger didn’t work, but he had to witness a scarring event, in which he had shot his enemy in the head. It is not surprising that soldiers returning from a stressful war often suffer from a psychological condition called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. For instance, in the book Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, the principle character Perry unmistakably demonstrates how war troopers can be damaged and experience the ill effects of PTSD.
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
Negative alterations in mood, arousal, and reactivity often display as persistent, distorted and negative beliefs; distorted blame; constricted affect; and/or irritable, aggressive behavior. Mitchell Sanders exhibits increased arousal towards aggression and hostility when confronted with the corpse of a young Viet Cong, choosing to “…put his hand on the boy’s wrist” and use “Kiowa’s hunting hatchet to remove the thumb” (77). To the reader, this action is unnecessary, but to a soldier suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder this is a routine
For instance, war veterans sometimes cannot view fireworks as it induces fear in them due to the sound of the explosions seeming like gun shots. In Slaughterhouse-Five, author Kurt Vonnegut, a former soldier in World War II, explores the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder by identifying the underlying causes, highlighting the impacts and symptoms of PTSD, and evaluating coping mechanisms. During a time period where post-traumatic stress disorder was still incredibly controversial, Vonnegut utilized the character of Billy Pilgrim to identify the causes of PTSD. The mental disorder can have many causes as explained in the article “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” in which the National Institute of Mental Health states, “Not everyone with PTSD has been through a dangerous event.
The war novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque depicts one protagonist, Paul, as he undergoes a psychological transformation. Paul plays a role as a soldier fighting in World War I. His experiences during the war are not episodes the average person would simply experience. Alternatively, his experiences allow him to develop into a more sophisticated individual. Remarque illustrates these metamorphic experiences to expose his theme of the loss of not only people’s lives but also innocence and tranquility that occurs in war.