Traumatic transmission : reading trauma in World War II narratives

Trauma is a psychological injury that is typically caused by the emotional shock from a\ud particular event or series of events. This experience radically alters an individual's\ud consciousness and shapes not only the way he or she processes the memories of events at\ud that particular time, but also shapes the way memories are discussed in the present\ud moment. In his or her mind, memory and time become distorted and consequently his or\ud her language describing that memory also becomes distorted. In my thesis I examine\ud what comes after the trauma; through an investigation of World War II narratives, I look\ud closely at the different ways trauma shapes the language of memory and identity for\ud individuals. This work contributes to the shared body of knowledge about how historical\ud events, particularly war, affect individuals