Date of Graduation
Spring 2021
Degree
Master of Arts in English
Department
English
Committee Chair
Alan Tinkler
Abstract
This thesis begins with a critical introduction analyzing the use of defamiliarization and the Dostoevskian hero in literature as a catalyst for a change in perception for victims of trauma. I create a relationship between the theories of Viktor Shklovsky and Mikhail Bakhtin as applied to both my own and published works. Short stories from Carmen Maria Machado and Marly Swick and Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale help to situate my own writing within this theoretical approach. The basis of my hypothesis lies in the blurred effect that trauma can have on the individual, causing an automatic response to any incidence similar to the primary trauma. The act of defamiliarization grants a perspective toward the initial trauma, breaking the automatic response (Shklovsky) and allowing the recovery process to begin. This new perspective helps the victim to broaden self-consciousness and transforms them from victim to hero (Bakhtin). Literature that defamiliarizes trauma allows a safe vantage point for sufferers and creates a place for recovery.
Keywords
creative writing, fiction, hero, defamiliarization, trauma
Subject Categories
Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | Fiction
Copyright
© Samantha Crystal Rae Barnette
Recommended Citation
Barnette, Samantha Crystal Rae, "Life, Love, and Loss: Redefining the Trauma" (2021). MSU Graduate Theses. 3596.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3596
