Joshua True
Mr. Woodman
English 11
August 4, 2017
Coping with Trauma
Throughout multiple works of literature, writers have shown many forms of dealing with psychological trauma. Whether it is based off of real life experience or fictional creativity, trauma can be a terrible, life-altering experience. However, as shown in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, the authors show how characters can cope with personal trauma by repressing and reliving the past through various means.
Within both novels, we are shown characters dealing with the traumatizing event of losing a family member. In the story of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, we are introduced to Oskar Schell, …show more content…
Throughout the story, we are familiarized with who Oskar is as a person. He is shown as a child, too smart for his age, with his own very unique way of thinking. As the story progresses, we find he is very different from most children. He is an inventor who seems to struggle with social interactions. Oskar is shown to have been very close with his father, describing his death as giving him "Heavy Boots". After his father's death, Oskar goes snooping around in his belongings searching for answers, to help his cope with this unimaginable loss. In doing this, he accidentally breaks a vase, and finds an envelope hidden inside. This envelope is addressed to "Black", and contains a key to a mysterious lock. When Oskar finds this envelope, he becomes convinced that it is a clue to the "Reconnaissance Missions" his father used to send him on, which were large scavenger hunts around the town. Determined to prove that this envelope and key were left as a clue, Oskar devises a plan to meet up with everyone in New York with the last name Black, in hopes of uncovering a message from his father. After a year of unsuccessful searching, Oskar determines that the envelope's discovery was just an accident. He finds that it actually belonged to the ex-husband of the first Black that he met during his search. It was the key to a safe deposit box, and much to Oskar's …show more content…
As the story progresses, Blanche explains her personal trauma of how her childhood home went bankrupt, and how she lost multiple family members to illness. Worse yet, she also witnessed her husband commit suicide. After so many significant losses, Blanche begins going through the seven stages of grief; yet she never truly learns to accept the deaths of her loved ones. Slowly but surely, this makes Blanche more susceptible to mental illness, along with the fact she began abusing alcohol to help dull the
Mr. Woodman
English 11
August 4, 2017
Coping with Trauma
Throughout multiple works of literature, writers have shown many forms of dealing with psychological trauma. Whether it is based off of real life experience or fictional creativity, trauma can be a terrible, life-altering experience. However, as shown in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, the authors show how characters can cope with personal trauma by repressing and reliving the past through various means.
Within both novels, we are shown characters dealing with the traumatizing event of losing a family member. In the story of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, we are introduced to Oskar Schell, …show more content…
Throughout the story, we are familiarized with who Oskar is as a person. He is shown as a child, too smart for his age, with his own very unique way of thinking. As the story progresses, we find he is very different from most children. He is an inventor who seems to struggle with social interactions. Oskar is shown to have been very close with his father, describing his death as giving him "Heavy Boots". After his father's death, Oskar goes snooping around in his belongings searching for answers, to help his cope with this unimaginable loss. In doing this, he accidentally breaks a vase, and finds an envelope hidden inside. This envelope is addressed to "Black", and contains a key to a mysterious lock. When Oskar finds this envelope, he becomes convinced that it is a clue to the "Reconnaissance Missions" his father used to send him on, which were large scavenger hunts around the town. Determined to prove that this envelope and key were left as a clue, Oskar devises a plan to meet up with everyone in New York with the last name Black, in hopes of uncovering a message from his father. After a year of unsuccessful searching, Oskar determines that the envelope's discovery was just an accident. He finds that it actually belonged to the ex-husband of the first Black that he met during his search. It was the key to a safe deposit box, and much to Oskar's …show more content…
As the story progresses, Blanche explains her personal trauma of how her childhood home went bankrupt, and how she lost multiple family members to illness. Worse yet, she also witnessed her husband commit suicide. After so many significant losses, Blanche begins going through the seven stages of grief; yet she never truly learns to accept the deaths of her loved ones. Slowly but surely, this makes Blanche more susceptible to mental illness, along with the fact she began abusing alcohol to help dull the