Representations of Trauma in Selected Contemporary Novels

Abstract

The thesis conducts an analysis of the representation of trauma in two selected novels of the early 21st century, which are Trauma (2007) by Patrick McGrath and Life of Pi (2001) by Yann Martel. The thesis examines the common trauma elements presented differently in terms of experience, manifestation, and representation. The first novel, Trauma by Patrick McGrath, elucidates the paradoxical nature of the absence/presence of trauma and its representation. The text unfolds the mystery of the protagonist who takes psychiatry as a profession, through which he treats different cases of traumatized patients. Eventually, he realizes that he has been living for ages since his childhood with a deep-seated trauma that he has never noticed and is not in touch with it; however, he has been acting out until triggered by an event. The second novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel takes at its focal point the narration of a deeply first-hand experience traumatic event that befalls the protagonist. It results in a cathartic effect that wreaks havoc on his psyche, yet he tries to work through and survive a shipwreck, the loss of his family, guilt of his own survival, and the physical brutality of the incidents that befell him.