Abstract
Objective: This study investigates the depiction of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in two works of fiction, The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, and Ordinary People, by Judith Guest.
Participants: In each text, the character struggling to mount a defense against the symptoms of PTSD is a child who must confront not only a single, precipitous event but also deleterious, ancillary conditions that threaten to impede the recovery process.
Methods: This is a study in contrast that utilizes a comparative case analysis of two fictional characters.
Results: One child reconstructs an integrated self while the other deteriorates mentally and emotionally.
Conclusions: These results suggest factors such as social supports, economic status, race and aesthetic self-image may play critical roles in a child's resiliency to the symptoms of PTSD.
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