Childhood Sexual Abuse in Contemporary Fiction

With the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in our society today, analyzing the fiction in which these trauma cases are depicted is more relevant than ever. In this project, I discuss The Color Purple (Alice Walker), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chobosky), Swagger (Carl Deuker), and The Pact (Jodi Picoult). I delve into the ways they depict CSA, the cycles of violence involved, and how those cycles of violence are broken and justice is achieved for the literary characters. I argue that this justice is accomplished after each author creates a shift in perspective and in environment for their characters that catalyzes the events that lead to the healing or resolution of their trauma