The Psychoanalysis Of The Protagonist In I’ll Take You There From The Perspective Of Trauma Theory

Joyce Carol Oates is a noted and prolific female American writer of modern literature. Since 1963 when she published her first work titled The North Gate, Oates has continued to produce over 150 works, including novels, stories, plays, poems and essays. She is known as "Woman Faulkner" because of her rich themes, varied writing techniques and skills. Most of the protagonists in Oates’s stories experience sufferings. Oates’s unique sensitivity to human psychology and its physical manifestations combined with her watchful eye on contemporary social issues result in keen descriptions of her characters and their sufferings.Her thirtieth novel I’ll Take You There is a semi-autobiographical account of a lonely female college student, who experiences trauma because of loss of love, narrating the process of seeking for maternal love. Using the technique of interior monologue, the protagonist narrates her search for love, despite being rebuffed at every moment. The plot carries us through her desperate grasping for maternal, paternal, and familial love, all the while revealing the psychological trauma of modem people caused by loss of love.In this thesis, the author uses trauma theory to analyze the protagonist’s causes of, symptoms of and the recovery from trauma.There are six parts in this thesis:Chapter One introduces Joyce Carol Oates’s life experience, her main literary achievements and the plot of I’ll Take You There. There is also a summary of the critical reception of Oates and her novel both at home and abroad.Chapter Two introduces the formation and the development of trauma theory and its application in literature.Chapter Three discusses the symptoms of the protagonist’s psychological trauma. Herman thinks that traumatized people choose to avoid when they experience the traumatic events. They also choose to disconnect themselves from normal life.Chapter Four mainly analyzes the causes of the protagonist’s psychological trauma from two aspects:her family and other people around her.Chapter Five expounds on the recovery from psychological trauma. Herman thinks that in order to recover from such trauma, three steps should be carried out:establishing a sense of security, remembering one’s own stories and reconnecting with other people.The final part is the conclusion of this thesis. A summary of the chapters above will be included in this chapter. In order to draw the reader’s attention, this thesis presents the protagonist’s self-denial caused by loss of love and the sufferings she experiences in pursuit of love. This thesis not only provide readers with a new perspective but also provides guidance for the traumatized people in grappling with their own existential meaning in contemporary society.