Traumatic Experiences in Three Selected Short Stories

Abstract

The aims of this study are to analyze trauma issue represented in three selected short stories and to analyze how the main characters deal with the traumatic experience. The first short story in this study is Vanka by Anton Chekhov (1886), the second short story is Alyosha the Pot by Leo Tolstoy (1905), and the third story is A Child in the Dark, and a Foreign Father by Henry Lawson (1902). This study applies qualitative research because the analysis is presented in the form of text. In order to guide this study, the writer uses defense mechanism theory defined by Freud (1894). The result of this analysis shows that the traumatic experiences that were received by the main characters of the three selected short stories were child abuse. These abuses were physical abuse, mental or emotional abuse, and neglect. The next result of this analysis shows that different person has their own way of dealing with the trauma they experienced, these are regression and compensation. Regression happens when the person psychologically goes back in time when the person feels safe, and compensation happens when the person overachieves at something they are good at to compensate for their weakness.

Keywords: defense mechanism, narrative elements, short story, trauma.