A Study Of Trauma Narration In Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

The direct aftermath of wars and terrorist attacks is heavy casualties.The alive have to suffer from the associated trauma induced by these catastrophic events and live a hard life after the tragic events.As a descendant of a Holocaust survivor and a witness to the terrorist attacks of 9/11,Jonathan Safran Foer displays the trauma of a three-generation family,recreating the devastating effects of wars and terrorist attacks on human beings in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.In order to understand the trauma of the novel and its unique narrative mode,this thesis will make use of trauma theory and unreliable narration of rhetoric narratology to explore the text.First of all,the thesis analyzes the different causes of three protagonists' trauma and their symptoms after the tragic events,and explores the frequent existence of sense of guilt and powerlessness among the survivors as well as the families of the victims and their survival crisis.Secondly,the thesis makes an analysis of unreliable narration in the novel in light of James Phelan's three axes(events/perception/judgement),and investigates the connection between trauma and unreliable narration: The traumatized narrate their stories in the way of high emotion,fragment and contradiction,weakening the credibility of their narration.In this sense,this bridges trauma and unreliable narration,which helps to construct facts and provides characters chances to reflect themselves.Finally,the thesis discusses the strategies that characters apply to confront their trauma,elucidating characters' resistance to the atrocities of wars and terrorist attacks by imagination and the achievement of their inner peace throughcommunication by narration and writing letters,which reveals Foer's criticism of cruel wars and terrorist attacks and his emphasis on communication between people.