The aim of this thesis is to uncover the performative instead of the descriptive nature of trauma in contemporary American texts: Wild and Into the Wild. It is widely accepted that larger traumas...Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to uncover the performative instead of the descriptive nature of trauma in contemporary American texts: Wild and Into the Wild. It is widely accepted that larger traumas need a narrative to be worked through, yet these seemingly non-typical examples show that narratives need a certain level of trauma as well. In chapter one the contradictions within trauma narratives will be analyzed by outlining the existing research. Chapter two places Wild amongst these theories and analyses Strayed as a learned, critical trauma author and her novel as autobiographical and calling upon the traditions of trauma. Chapter three both compares Wild and Into the Wild, one being autobiographical and the other describing someone else’s trauma. The positions chosen by the authors provide them with the opportunity to both link the stories to larger societal wounds and it gives the author as well as the audience the chance to work through their own traumas.Show less
The War on Drugs has largely been declared a policy failure, and the attack on the supply-side has been subject to scholarly debate (see Bagley, Bertram, Nadelmann, Tokatlian, Johns etc.). This is...Show moreThe War on Drugs has largely been declared a policy failure, and the attack on the supply-side has been subject to scholarly debate (see Bagley, Bertram, Nadelmann, Tokatlian, Johns etc.). This is in contrast to the somewhat glorified war narrative of ‘good versus bad’ that Narcos imposes on the events that occurred in early 1980s Colombia. The show’s perpetuation of the War on Drugs supply-side logic, the juxtaposition of narcotrafficantes with communism, and the demonization of the narcos all serve to justify the suspension of morality in the war against the narcos.Show less
When Freud first began to publish his theories on the unconscious around the turn of the 20th century, this represented a revolution within the field of psychology. However, Freud was much indebted...Show moreWhen Freud first began to publish his theories on the unconscious around the turn of the 20th century, this represented a revolution within the field of psychology. However, Freud was much indebted to literature, in which the existence of the unconscious had been postulated for some time. This thesis follows the developing perception of the unconscious in 19th century literature as it corresponds to the development of the concept of the unconscious within psychology, from a source of fear and mystery associated with pathology, to an accepted element of the human psyche recognised within everyone. In addition, it examines how particular concepts within Freudian psychoanalysis can be identified in some of the literature preceding him. Thus, it shows how Freud's theories were anticipated by 19th century literature.Show less
