A Study Of Vietnam War Trauma In Tim O’Brien’s In The Lake Of The Woods

Tim O’Brien is a famous American Vietnam War writer.Because of his personal experience in the Vietnam War,his works can always deeply reflect the negative impact of the Vietnam War on the United States.In the Lake of the Woods,which was written in1994,is the novel which Tim O’Brien considers as his most successful work.The story begins with a case of disappearance of Kathy,leading to the war trauma experience of returning Vietnam soldier John Wade.Besides,the open ending provides readers countless possibilities.This thesis will be based on the trauma theory,analyzing John wade’s personal trauma experience as a starting point.It argues that John’s experience is not rare among millions of Americans.He is a microcosm of most returning veterans.Based on this opinion,the thesis will further explore the collective trauma of the veterans groups.And through the analysis of his failure in recovery process to promote the public awareness of war trauma and reflection on the war.The introduction part firstly gives a brief introduction to Tim O’Brien and his work In the Lake of the Woods,then summarizes the domestic and foreign researches on this book and the development of trauma theory,finally summarizes the focus and structure of this thesis.There are three chapters in the main body.The first chapter combines text with trauma theory and narrative techniques to analyze symptoms of Vietnam War trauma from both individual and collective perspectives,both psychological and cultural perspectives.Chapter Two focus on the personal,social and political reasons that generate these symptoms,such as personal identity dilemma,social relationship and government’s decisions of the war.Chapter Three are based on the former analysis to discuss the healing of Vietnam War trauma.First is to summarize the efforts and attempts taken by the traumatized character John Wade in his process of recovery from trauma:seeking for love and security,reconstructing the war story,and rebuilding the connection.Because these attempts are on the basis of concealing and denying the past,they all end in failure.Although John Wade’s attempts are failed,the open ending provides various possibilities for the novel,and learning from the previous failed attempts in recovery may lead the real way to heal the war trauma.The final part conclusion reiterates and summarizes the main points of the thesis.Based on the trauma theory,the thesis analyzes the trauma experience of Vietnam veterans,and reflect on the trauma healing of the characters: The process of trauma recovery has a sequence--The establishment of security is the primary task.On this basis,the traumatized subject can have the courage to face the suffering,and set the foundation for the following reconnecting.In addition,the temporary comfort that is completely dependent on external objects is a kind of escapement,and only by facing the past can we better face the future and get to the final recovery.At the same time,the thesis helps to reflect on the lasting trauma brought by the war,to construct a reasonable cognition of war through the war experience of Vietnam veterans represented by John and the post-war life.