trauma and 911 novels.docx

trauma and 911 novels.docx

《trauma and 911 novels.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《trauma and 911 novels.docx（27页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

traumaand911novels

Syndrome-,symptom-,trauma-chainsinselectedpost-andpre-9/11novels

***

BentSørensen,AalborgUniversity

PerhapsSlavojZizek’sfamousornotoriousexhortation‘EnjoyYourSymptom!

’setforthina1992bookofthattitle,containinghisLacaniananalysesofHollywoodfilm,shouldmoreproperly,esp.post9/11,beformulated‘enjoyyoursyndrome!

’Certainlyawholenewbatchoftraumaliteratureandtraumafilmshasappeared,asAmericanculturehasattemptedtocometotermswiththecruelfactthatapparentlynoteveryoneintheworldlovestheAmericanwayoflife.Whilepsychoanalyticaltheorycangosomewaytowardexplainingthisnewturntowardstheproliferationoftraumaliterature,alargerculturalcriticismisrequiredtofullyunderstandthedevelopmentinquestion.

Aremarkablenumberofpost-9/11fictionsfeatureimpairednarrators,describedbytheirauthorsassufferingfromonesyndromeoranother,themostpopularnodoubtbeingPTSD,orpost-traumaticstressdisorder.IshallfocusmainlyonExtremelyLoudandIncrediblyClosebyJonathanSafranFoerandDonDeLillo’sFallingMan,twonovelsthat,respectively,useatragicomicandrealistmodetodescribethesyndromeinquestion.Usefulparametersinthiscomparisonwillbenotionsofplayful,postmodernnarrationvs.post-‘ethical-turn-narration’（which,inthecaseofDeLillo,masksareturntoamodernistPuritanism）.However,IalsoaimtocastawistfulglancebacktoanearlierDeLillotraumanarrative,aswellasanattempttousethesatiricalmodeeveninapost-9/11setting.Inthelattercase,KenKalfus’snovel,ADisorderPeculiartotheCountry,thetraumaoftheprotagonists（or,foroneofthem,trauma-by-proxy）ishiddenundermanifestationsoftheirprimarynarcissisticdisorder,butsubtlythenarratorweavestogetheracritiqueoftheiregotismaswellasofthesociety-at-large’shypocriticaltraumaresponsewhichisshowntobeunscrupulouslychannelledintogung-hopatriotismandtwistedreligious/racialhatred.

Tounderstandnotjustthenovelsinquestionbuttograspthealmostepidemicnatureandextentoftheabove-mentioneddiscoursefieldanditsimplicationsforAmericanandglobalculture,itisnecessarytofirstconsiderwhatatraumais,whattraumaticknowledgeconsistsofandhowtraumatravelsfromexperiencetobeingnarrated.Inrecentyearsanincreasedtheorizationoftheseconceptshasoccurred,inspiredobviouslybyFreudianandLacanianusagesofthetermtrauma,andbytheintersectionofpoststructuralism’sinterestinmarginalizedgroupsanddiscourses（post-colonialismandfeminism,bothspringimmediatelytomind）andthepoliticalempowermentofhithertodisenfranchisedandvictimisedminorities.Associalconstructivismhasbecomemoreandmoredominantasamethodofunderstandingtherelationbetweentextsandidentity,anobviousrolehasbeenassignedtohithertolittleregardeddiscourseformsthatexpressfragmentary,abjectalanddisorderlyexperiencesinfragmentary,disorderedandabjectalnarratives.ThefieldIamreferringtoisthestillemergentinterdisciplinarydiscourseoftraumatheory,markedinitsinceptionbytheeffortsofCathyCarruth,editorofvolumessuchasTrauma:

ExplorationsinMemory（1995）,andmorerecentlytheappearanceofaretrospectivearticlesuchasGeoffreyHartman’spieceinPsyArtin2004,“OnTraumaticKnowledgeandLiteraryStudies”,orRosemaryWinslow’s“TropingTrauma:

Conceiving/of/ExperiencesofSpeechlessTerror”（2004）.

WhileFreudfounditdifficulttotheorizethenotionoftraumatohisfullsatisfaction,hisfollowershavesimplifiedhisvacillationstoastateofcanonicalinsightintothenatureoftrauma,asexemplifiedbythisparagraphfromHartman’sarticle:

The[（post）Freudian]theoryholdsthattheknowledgeoftrauma,ortheknowledgewhichcomesfromthatsource,iscomposedoftwocontradictoryelements.Oneisthetraumaticevent,registeredratherthanexperienced.Itseemstohavebypassedperceptionandconsciousness,andfallsdirectlyintothepsyche.Theotherisakindofmemoryoftheevent,intheformofaperpetualtroping[literally‘turning’,butHartmanalsomeans‘metaphorizing’]ofitbythebypassedorseverelysplit（dissociated）psyche.

Asaresultofthetraumaticexperience/eventbeingadisruptiondueto“aneventoutsidetherangeofordinaryhumanexperience”（toquotetheAmericanPsychiatricAssociation’sDiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisorders）,theoriginaleventcannotbeconsciouslyaccessed,evaluatedorrationalizedbythetraumatizedindividual.Allthatisaccessibletotheconsciouspsycheisthememoryoftheevent,asupplementaryexperienceoftendirectlydecodableasasetofsymptoms.Thesesymptomsfrequentlyincludeaformofrepetitioncompulsionandothertypesofserialbehaviour.Suchbehaviourcanbecomeaningrainedpatternofavoidanceactivitiessuchasareknownfromisolatedphobiasandirrationalfears.Agroupoftherapists（Drs.Bloom,FoderaroandRyan）workingwithpost-traumaticpatientshavesystematisedthesesymptomsintotheso-called9Asoftrauma:

1.Attachment

2.Affect

3.Anger

4.Authority

5.Awareness

6.Addiction

7.Automaticrepetition

8.Avoidance

9.Alienation

Brieflyput,theseconceptscoveralackofabilitytoestablishormaintainattachments,forinstancewithinpreviouslycloserelations（familial,erotic,emotional）,asurplusordeficitofaffect–eitherstatebeingoutsideconsciousregulatorycontrol–andamarkeddefencemechanismregardingauthority,whichistheneitherassumedwithoutproperlicense（intheformofbullyingbehaviour）orsubmittedtoexcessivelyandinpettydetail,dissociativestatesorepisodes,sleepdisturbances,addictivebehaviour,repetitioncompulsions–eitherintheformofforcedactionsorforcedavoidancesofspecificactivitiesorstimuli–andultimatelyafeelingofalienationfromthesurroundingworldorapocalypticfearsofeventsinthefuture.Suchahorrifyinglitanyofwoesisindeeddescriptiveofthecharacteristicsoftheprotagonistsintraumanarratives,whetherauthenticorfictive,asweshallseeshortly.

Kirmayer,LemelsonandBaradmakeasimilarobservationintheirconstructivistandhistoricizedreadingofthe“genealogyoftrauma”intheintroductiontotheirbookUnderstandingTrauma–IntegratingBiological,Clinical,andCulturalPerspectives:

Despitethestarkeventsitnames,traumaisnotanaturalcategorybutaculturallyconstructedwaytomarkoutcertainclassesofexperiencesandevents.Thesalientexamplesandculturalprototypesoftraumahavechangedovertime,alongwithourwaysofthinkingaboutillnessandsuffering,ourconceptsofmindandpersonhood,andthemoralpoliticsofvictimhood,blame,andaccountability（Leys,2000;Micale&Lerner,2001）.Traumaisametaphorborrowedfromthedomainofmedicineandextendedtoawiderangeofexperiences.Likeanygenerativetrope,themetaphoroftraumashapesourthinkinginwaysthatarebothexplicitandhidden.Thehistoryoftrauma,then,isnotsimplyastoryofthemarchofscientific,medical,andpsychiatricprogresstowardgreaterclarityaboutaconceptwithfixedmeaning,butamatterofchangingsocialconstructionsofexperience,inthecontextofparticularclinical,cultural,andpoliticalideologies.

Continuingnowthehistoricalexaminationofwhatconstitutestraumaticexperience,the20thcenturyhasoftenbeendubbedthecenturyoftrauma–butthetruthofthematterseemstobethatthe21stcenturypromisestooutdothepreviouscenturyintermsoftraumaticquantity.Ifthishadnotbeenpainfullyobvioustothatproportionoftheworld’spopulationlivingintheUSA,theeventsofSeptember2001certainlyconstitutedarudeawakening.WhilethenumberofliveslostintheattacksontheWTCandthePentagonwasnotveryhighbycomparisontowar-timeevents,theexposureoftheeventsbythemediaandtheirsecondaryeffectsoncedisseminatedandre-disseminatedgaveusahithertounprecedentedexampleofwhatIwouldterm‘traumabyproxy’.

Inthecaseofpost-9/11collectivetrauma-by-proxy,aninnocent,evennaivepeople’sstateofmentalunpreparedness,andtheruthlessexploitationoftheinitialtraumabythemediaandawar-hungrypoliticalandmilitaryestablishmentcombinedtocreateanunusualanddisproportionatelyprotractedpost-traumaticphaseintheAmericanpublicunconscious.Novelistshavelatterlyturnedtothisrichstoryformaterialfortalesoftraumaandsurvival,andasisalwaysthecasewithtraumanarrativestherebyruntheriskoffurtherperpetuatingthepost-traumaticphase.Ontheotherhand,literaturemayjusthavearoletoplayinhealingthetrauma,oratleasttolendvoicetothevictims,perhapsevenaddingatenthA–forArt,tothetypicaltraumasymptoms/responses,andthereforeweshouldnowturntoanexaminationoftwopost-9/11novels,andabriefglancebacktotwootherpre-9/11disordernarratives.

JonathanSafranFoerrepresentsthethirdgenerationofpostmodernAmericanwriters（firstwaversincludeThomasPynchon,JohnBarthandKurtVonnegut;secondwaversDonDeLillo,PaulAusterandE.L.Doctorow）.Foer’s2005sophomorenovel,ExtremelyLoudandIncrediblyClosecontinuestomixhistoricalnarrativesinthebesttraditionofhistoriographicmetafictionasdevelopedbyfirstandsecondgenerationpostmodernauthorssuchasPynchon（knownforhistwo-tiernovelswhichconstructanexusbetweenWWIIandcontemporaryAmericaofthe1960s）,Vonnegut（samedualstrategyinSlaughterhouse5,withsomefuturisticsci-fimixedin）,andAuster（whose1980snovels,suchasLeviathan,frequentlyexaminedthehistoricalrootsofpoliticallymotivatedterrorism,