Trauma And Recovery-An Analysis Of Cloudstreet From The Perspective Of Trauma Theory

As one of the most esteemed and prolific novelists in contemporary Australian literary world,Tim Winton is the first one who has won Miles Franklin Award(the highest literary prize in Australia)four times.Most of his works are set in the Western Australia and concentrate on the lives of ordinary people in a realistic way,which shows his profound humanistic concern.Cloudstreet is one of the most representative works among his literary classics.Based on the background of the Second World War,the novel mainly describes the troublesome lives and sufferings of two ordinary families in Perth,the capital of Western Australia during the period from 1943 to 1964.Having undergone many twists and turns,the two families eventually overcome their difficulties and get out of their dilemma,finding their inner ascription and the meaning of their lives.Under the framework of trauma theories put forward by Sigmund Freud,Judith Herman,Cathy Caruth and other trauma theorists,the thesis is intended to analyze the psychological trauma of the two main young protagonists Rose and Quick from the following three aspects.First of all,the thesis deals with the main factors leading to the characters' psychological trauma,including social context and domestic environment.Then the thesis analyzes the traumatic symptoms of the characters,such as self-identity crisis and disintegration between the past and the present.Finally,the thesis explores the path in which protagonists' recovering from trauma.By the means of retelling traumatic events and integrating the past and the present,they ultimately work through the trauma they have experienced in their growth,and understand the true meaning of life and start a brand new life.Analyzing Cloudstreet from the perspective of trauma theory provides a new channel to the research of the novel.By the analysis of the work from the protagonists' traumatic experiences,stress responses,and the main approaches to recovery,the thesis does contribute to a deeper understanding of the journey of the protagonists' heart,paying attention to the protagonists' inner world and even getting more familiar with the social background involved in the novel.