This essay examines Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close through an application of a theoretical framework of trauma studies, aiming to showcase the elements of personal trauma displayed in the novel. Moreover, it wishes to discern the mental and physical sufferings and working through of the trauma through a thematic analysis aimed at the concepts of loss, vicarious trauma and isolation. The study’s results indicate that trauma is inexplicably linked to the individual, demonstrating that prior trauma has a substantial impact on how one deals with more recent trauma. They also suggest that it is impossible to distinguish between first-hand trauma and second-hand trauma, instead focusing on the term vicarious trauma to describe the elements of personal trauma in a better way. Although Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a work of fiction, this essay argues that it is valid in its portraying of trauma as it showcases the complex nature of trauma and its different aspects. In terms of the pedagogical implications of trauma, the essay suggests ways in which one can utilize and address fictional works in the Swedish EFL classroom supported by suggestions articulated by the Swedish National Agency for Education. It is done by raising students’ awareness for the elements of personal trauma, while at the same time improving their all-round communicative skills enabling them to discuss these issues at length.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-85186 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Smit, Frank |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för språk (SPR) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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