Study On John Grady In All The Pretty Horses From The Perspective Of Trauma Theory

Cormac McCarthy is a famous writer in contemporary American literature.His work All the Pretty Horses is one of The Border Trilogy,which is considered as the best works of his western novels.Many scholars at home and abroad have studied this novel through all kinds of aspects for a long time,but the detailed study on the protagonist by trauma theory is neglected.This thesis intends to analyze the protagonist John Grady in All the Pretty Horses from the perceptive of trauma theory.The main part of this thesis is divided into three chapters: traumatic symptoms,reasons and recovery of John Grady.The traumatic symptoms of the protagonist mainly show in three aspects: dissociation,reliving the traumatic events and violent tendency.The causes of these traumas are also divided in three aspects: broken family,failed love affair and violent prison murder.The recovery ways of John Grady’s traumas are establishment of safety,trauma narrative and reconnection with ordinary life.Based on the trauma theory of Judith Herman and other traumatic theorists,this thesis intends to highlight the trauma writing in McCarthy’s work.It not only provides a new understanding of the protagonist John Grady in All the Pretty Horses,but also show Cormac McCarthy’s care for the psychological changing of modern people.