trauma and 911 novels.docx
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trauma and 911 novels.docx
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traumaand911novels
Syndrome-,symptom-,trauma-chainsinselectedpost-andpre-9/11novels
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BentSørensen,AalborgUniversity
PerhapsSlavojZizek’sfamousornotoriousexhortation‘EnjoyYourSymptom!
’setforthina1992bookofthattitle,containinghisLacaniananalysesofHollywoodfilm,shouldmoreproperly,esp.post9/11,beformulated‘enjoyyoursyndrome!
’Certainlyawholenewbatchoftraumaliteratureandtraumafilmshasappeared,asAmericanculturehasattemptedtocometotermswiththecruelfactthatapparentlynoteveryoneintheworldlovestheAmericanwayoflife.Whilepsychoanalyticaltheorycangosomewaytowardexplainingthisnewturntowardstheproliferationoftraumaliterature,alargerculturalcriticismisrequiredtofullyunderstandthedevelopmentinquestion.
Aremarkablenumberofpost-9/11fictionsfeatureimpairednarrators,describedbytheirauthorsassufferingfromonesyndromeoranother,themostpopularnodoubtbeingPTSD,orpost-traumaticstressdisorder.IshallfocusmainlyonExtremelyLoudandIncrediblyClosebyJonathanSafranFoerandDonDeLillo’sFallingMan,twonovelsthat,respectively,useatragicomicandrealistmodetodescribethesyndromeinquestion.Usefulparametersinthiscomparisonwillbenotionsofplayful,postmodernnarrationvs.post-‘ethical-turn-narration’(which,inthecaseofDeLillo,masksareturntoamodernistPuritanism).However,IalsoaimtocastawistfulglancebacktoanearlierDeLillotraumanarrative,aswellasanattempttousethesatiricalmodeeveninapost-9/11setting.Inthelattercase,KenKalfus’snovel,ADisorderPeculiartotheCountry,thetraumaoftheprotagonists(or,foroneofthem,trauma-by-proxy)ishiddenundermanifestationsoftheirprimarynarcissisticdisorder,butsubtlythenarratorweavestogetheracritiqueoftheiregotismaswellasofthesociety-at-large’shypocriticaltraumaresponsewhichisshowntobeunscrupulouslychannelledintogung-hopatriotismandtwistedreligious/racialhatred.
Tounderstandnotjustthenovelsinquestionbuttograspthealmostepidemicnatureandextentoftheabove-mentioneddiscoursefieldanditsimplicationsforAmericanandglobalculture,itisnecessarytofirstconsiderwhatatraumais,whattraumaticknowledgeconsistsofandhowtraumatravelsfromexperiencetobeingnarrated.Inrecentyearsanincreasedtheorizationoftheseconceptshasoccurred,inspiredobviouslybyFreudianandLacanianusagesofthetermtrauma,andbytheintersectionofpoststructuralism’sinterestinmarginalizedgroupsanddiscourses(post-colonialismandfeminism,bothspringimmediatelytomind)andthepoliticalempowermentofhithertodisenfranchisedandvictimisedminorities.Associalconstructivismhasbecomemoreandmoredominantasamethodofunderstandingtherelationbetweentextsandidentity,anobviousrolehasbeenassignedtohithertolittleregardeddiscourseformsthatexpressfragmentary,abjectalanddisorderlyexperiencesinfragmentary,disorderedandabjectalnarratives.ThefieldIamreferringtoisthestillemergentinterdisciplinarydiscourseoftraumatheory,markedinitsinceptionbytheeffortsofCathyCarruth,editorofvolumessuchasTrauma:
ExplorationsinMemory(1995),andmorerecentlytheappearanceofaretrospectivearticlesuchasGeoffreyHartman’spieceinPsyArtin2004,“OnTraumaticKnowledgeandLiteraryStudies”,orRosemaryWinslow’s“TropingTrauma:
Conceiving/of/ExperiencesofSpeechlessTerror”(2004).
WhileFreudfounditdifficulttotheorizethenotionoftraumatohisfullsatisfaction,hisfollowershavesimplifiedhisvacillationstoastateofcanonicalinsightintothenatureoftrauma,asexemplifiedbythisparagraphfromHartman’sarticle:
The[(post)Freudian]theoryholdsthattheknowledgeoftrauma,ortheknowledgewhichcomesfromthatsource,iscomposedoftwocontradictoryelements.Oneisthetraumaticevent,registeredratherthanexperienced.Itseemstohavebypassedperceptionandconsciousness,andfallsdirectlyintothepsyche.Theotherisakindofmemoryoftheevent,intheformofaperpetualtroping[literally‘turning’,butHartmanalsomeans‘metaphorizing’]ofitbythebypassedorseverelysplit(dissociated)psyche.
Asaresultofthetraumaticexperience/eventbeingadisruptiondueto“aneventoutsidetherangeofordinaryhumanexperience”(toquotetheAmericanPsychiatricAssociation’sDiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisorders),theoriginaleventcannotbeconsciouslyaccessed,evaluatedorrationalizedbythetraumatizedindividual.Allthatisaccessibletotheconsciouspsycheisthememoryoftheevent,asupplementaryexperienceoftendirectlydecodableasasetofsymptoms.Thesesymptomsfrequentlyincludeaformofrepetitioncompulsionandothertypesofserialbehaviour.Suchbehaviourcanbecomeaningrainedpatternofavoidanceactivitiessuchasareknownfromisolatedphobiasandirrationalfears.Agroupoftherapists(Drs.Bloom,FoderaroandRyan)workingwithpost-traumaticpatientshavesystematisedthesesymptomsintotheso-called9Asoftrauma:
1.Attachment
2.Affect
3.Anger
4.Authority
5.Awareness
6.Addiction
7.Automaticrepetition
8.Avoidance
9.Alienation
Brieflyput,theseconceptscoveralackofabilitytoestablishormaintainattachments,forinstancewithinpreviouslycloserelations(familial,erotic,emotional),asurplusordeficitofaffect–eitherstatebeingoutsideconsciousregulatorycontrol–andamarkeddefencemechanismregardingauthority,whichistheneitherassumedwithoutproperlicense(intheformofbullyingbehaviour)orsubmittedtoexcessivelyandinpettydetail,dissociativestatesorepisodes,sleepdisturbances,addictivebehaviour,repetitioncompulsions–eitherintheformofforcedactionsorforcedavoidancesofspecificactivitiesorstimuli–andultimatelyafeelingofalienationfromthesurroundingworldorapocalypticfearsofeventsinthefuture.Suchahorrifyinglitanyofwoesisindeeddescriptiveofthecharacteristicsoftheprotagonistsintraumanarratives,whetherauthenticorfictive,asweshallseeshortly.
Kirmayer,LemelsonandBaradmakeasimilarobservationintheirconstructivistandhistoricizedreadingofthe“genealogyoftrauma”intheintroductiontotheirbookUnderstandingTrauma–IntegratingBiological,Clinical,andCulturalPerspectives:
Despitethestarkeventsitnames,traumaisnotanaturalcategorybutaculturallyconstructedwaytomarkoutcertainclassesofexperiencesandevents.Thesalientexamplesandculturalprototypesoftraumahavechangedovertime,alongwithourwaysofthinkingaboutillnessandsuffering,ourconceptsofmindandpersonhood,andthemoralpoliticsofvictimhood,blame,andaccountability(Leys,2000;Micale&Lerner,2001).Traumaisametaphorborrowedfromthedomainofmedicineandextendedtoawiderangeofexperiences.Likeanygenerativetrope,themetaphoroftraumashapesourthinkinginwaysthatarebothexplicitandhidden.Thehistoryoftrauma,then,isnotsimplyastoryofthemarchofscientific,medical,andpsychiatricprogresstowardgreaterclarityaboutaconceptwithfixedmeaning,butamatterofchangingsocialconstructionsofexperience,inthecontextofparticularclinical,cultural,andpoliticalideologies.
Continuingnowthehistoricalexaminationofwhatconstitutestraumaticexperience,the20thcenturyhasoftenbeendubbedthecenturyoftrauma–butthetruthofthematterseemstobethatthe21stcenturypromisestooutdothepreviouscenturyintermsoftraumaticquantity.Ifthishadnotbeenpainfullyobvioustothatproportionoftheworld’spopulationlivingintheUSA,theeventsofSeptember2001certainlyconstitutedarudeawakening.WhilethenumberofliveslostintheattacksontheWTCandthePentagonwasnotveryhighbycomparisontowar-timeevents,theexposureoftheeventsbythemediaandtheirsecondaryeffectsoncedisseminatedandre-disseminatedgaveusahithertounprecedentedexampleofwhatIwouldterm‘traumabyproxy’.
Inthecaseofpost-9/11collectivetrauma-by-proxy,aninnocent,evennaivepeople’sstateofmentalunpreparedness,andtheruthlessexploitationoftheinitialtraumabythemediaandawar-hungrypoliticalandmilitaryestablishmentcombinedtocreateanunusualanddisproportionatelyprotractedpost-traumaticphaseintheAmericanpublicunconscious.Novelistshavelatterlyturnedtothisrichstoryformaterialfortalesoftraumaandsurvival,andasisalwaysthecasewithtraumanarrativestherebyruntheriskoffurtherperpetuatingthepost-traumaticphase.Ontheotherhand,literaturemayjusthavearoletoplayinhealingthetrauma,oratleasttolendvoicetothevictims,perhapsevenaddingatenthA–forArt,tothetypicaltraumasymptoms/responses,andthereforeweshouldnowturntoanexaminationoftwopost-9/11novels,andabriefglancebacktotwootherpre-9/11disordernarratives.
JonathanSafranFoerrepresentsthethirdgenerationofpostmodernAmericanwriters(firstwaversincludeThomasPynchon,JohnBarthandKurtVonnegut;secondwaversDonDeLillo,PaulAusterandE.L.Doctorow).Foer’s2005sophomorenovel,ExtremelyLoudandIncrediblyClosecontinuestomixhistoricalnarrativesinthebesttraditionofhistoriographicmetafictionasdevelopedbyfirstandsecondgenerationpostmodernauthorssuchasPynchon(knownforhistwo-tiernovelswhichconstructanexusbetweenWWIIandcontemporaryAmericaofthe1960s),Vonnegut(samedualstrategyinSlaughterhouse5,withsomefuturisticsci-fimixedin),andAuster(whose1980snovels,suchasLeviathan,frequentlyexaminedthehistoricalrootsofpoliticallymotivatedterrorism,
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