Trauma,Self And Transcendence: A Thematic Study Of The Goldfinch By Donna Tartt

This paper argues that The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is a book about trauma,self and transcendence that are built around the protagonist Theo's adventures of pursuing the meaning of life against terrorism.The Goldfinch was awarded Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2014.It gives a picturesque account of the growth of an adolescent named Theo in the first person,who loses his beloved mother in a terrorist bombing and is traumatized by this event.In most of Tartt's novels,she tends to give a detailed description of the teenager's loss,confusion and redemption in his growth.In The Goldfinch,she also portrays the protagonist Theo's traumatic experience caused by his family and lovers,and how Theo suffers from his entanglement with a famous painting “The Goldfinch”.This thesis further explores the causes and symptoms of his trauma,and how Theo recovers from trauma and attains a new life,finally figuring out the essence of his self and the significance of being.Theo's growing process and his traumatic experience are mingled with each other,which constitute the mainline of the story.Therefore,based on a close-reading of the full-text and adopting the existentialism and humanism theories,this thesis delves into Theo's process of going through trauma and towards maturity under the instruction of transcendence guide,with traumatic events and the pursuing for the painting “The Goldfinch” set as the background.This thesis includes three parts,namely: introduction,the main body,and conclusion.The main body is divided into three chapters.The introduction gives the main argument of this thesis and the literature review according to the argument.The study methods and writing purpose of this thesis are also mentioned.Chapter one analyzes the trauma,which includes the causes of trauma,the symptoms of trauma and recovery from trauma.Chapter two delves into self-identity.To demonstrate the extreme sides of self-division,this thesis argues two kinds of people: the man of “ideal” represented by Theo and the man of “fact” represented by Boris.Because both of them lack a full vision of human experience,they adhere stubbornly to their ideas of humanity as well as principles of conduct.Suffering from incompleteness in personalities,they nearly die in a conflict of tension.Despite all the tragedies,the spiritual journey of Theo to transcendence conveys a consoling message.However,the journey is not easy.Theo undergoes a painful process from self-negation to self-awareness and to self-acceptance.His explores into the past contribute a lot to his moral growth and let him change from an observer of life to an active participant.Chapter three focuses on Theo's transcendent into humanist by tracing his spiritual quest,and finally he finds the significance of being.He successfully developed a world of humanity with hope,free choice and responsibility for actions.