Transgenerational Trauma In Thane Rosenbaum's Second Hand Smoke

Thane Rosenbaum(1960-)is regarded as one of the most influential American Jewish writers in revealing the aftermath of the Holocaust in the United States.Rosenbaum is the son of Holocaust survivors,whose works mainly focus on the impact of the Holocaust on the descendants of survivors,and its huge shadow on mankind.His Second Hand Smoke(1999)revolves around the sufferings of Mila's family which are caused by the Holocaust,revealing the Trans-generational Trauma that is inflicted on the descendants of survivors,and its typical mechanism and recovery process.Based on Trans-generational Trauma theory,this thesis studies the transmission mechanism of Holocaust trauma from survivors to their offspring and the ways to heal such Trans-generational Trauma in Second Hand Smoke.The thesis consists of five chapters.Chapter one introduces Rosenbaum and the main plots of Second Hand Smoke,sorts out the literature review of this work,and summarizes the purpose and structure of this thesis.Chapter two further elaborates the definition,transmission mechanism and healing approaches of Trans-generational Trauma on the basis of trauma theory.Chapter three explores the abnormal nurturing behaviors of the Holocaust survivors in Second Hand Smoke combined with the mechanism of Trans-generational Trauma transmission.The abnormal nurturing behaviors will lead to the absence of maternal love,the lack of paternal love and even the breakup of family relationships,which directly or indirectly transmit the Holocaust trauma to the offspring.Chapter four analyzes the approaches with which Duncan and Isaac heal their Trans-generational Trauma of the Holocaust from the perspective of Judith Herman's trauma recovery.These approaches mainly include returning to Jewish community,mourning the trauma,reconnecting with others and constructing a normal life.Chapter five is the concluding part,which points out that although the Trans-generational Trauma in Second Hand Smoke mainly focuses on single family,it also makes a profound reflection on the families,communities and cultures of Holocaust survivors in modern context,and attempts to construct the Holocaust as a common disaster of all mankind that transcends regions and races.