Exploring Psychological Trauma In 'Mending'
Formal Essay #1
Exploring psychological trauma and its affects
Eng. 220, Spring 2011
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event. In “Mending by Sallie Bingham”, the reader can find that the narrator has dealt with a trauma, and the pain that arises is a lot. Same situations occur with Pat Staten, and her father, as well as Jane Lazzare. In each of the short stories, the reader can find that the author or narrator has suffered with psychological trauma and the pain that has manifested. In the short story of “Mending by Sallie Bingham” the narrator expresses her loneliness. She explained how she longs for her mother’s soft arms and the warmth of her hugs. “She gave me the warmth …show more content…
This is the case with Pat Staten and her father. Pat’s father is a vet from the war and has a hard time dealing with the stress from the war. In order for him to try and forget, he drowns his memories with alcohol. Because of the way Pat’s father deals with his stress, he actually almost harms Pat and her family. Pat is very young when this incident occurs. Her mother believes that she was too young and wouldn’t remember anything. Pat’s mother is correct, because of the event, Pat suppressed the memory. As time goes on Pat starts to remember the very night her father tried to kill her. Although she might not realize it, this trauma sets pat up for pain and questions for the rest of her life. She tells her mother that she has dreams but she’s not sure if they are real. “At first I thought it was a dream because it came to me as an incident that had happened somewhere outside the usual realm of daily reality.” Pat slowly regains her memory of the night. In the story Pat states that as she was sitting in school the sun light brought back the night. The sun reminded her of the day when she was playing under the tree in the front of her house. Her mother had come whipping outside grabbing the children and running to the barn. Pats father was drunk and angry and in his own way wanted to show his family what he had been through in the war. Pats mother tried to save her children the only way she knew how. She had them all come out of hiding and line up against the wall. Pats mother being a strong woman didn’t show fear and by doing this, she was able to save her family. Pat has a hard time dealing with the after effects of remembering this night. Pat has hatred for her mother, she doesn’t really understand what happened and why. This trauma in Pat’s life sets her
Exploring psychological trauma and its affects
Eng. 220, Spring 2011
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event. In “Mending by Sallie Bingham”, the reader can find that the narrator has dealt with a trauma, and the pain that arises is a lot. Same situations occur with Pat Staten, and her father, as well as Jane Lazzare. In each of the short stories, the reader can find that the author or narrator has suffered with psychological trauma and the pain that has manifested. In the short story of “Mending by Sallie Bingham” the narrator expresses her loneliness. She explained how she longs for her mother’s soft arms and the warmth of her hugs. “She gave me the warmth …show more content…
This is the case with Pat Staten and her father. Pat’s father is a vet from the war and has a hard time dealing with the stress from the war. In order for him to try and forget, he drowns his memories with alcohol. Because of the way Pat’s father deals with his stress, he actually almost harms Pat and her family. Pat is very young when this incident occurs. Her mother believes that she was too young and wouldn’t remember anything. Pat’s mother is correct, because of the event, Pat suppressed the memory. As time goes on Pat starts to remember the very night her father tried to kill her. Although she might not realize it, this trauma sets pat up for pain and questions for the rest of her life. She tells her mother that she has dreams but she’s not sure if they are real. “At first I thought it was a dream because it came to me as an incident that had happened somewhere outside the usual realm of daily reality.” Pat slowly regains her memory of the night. In the story Pat states that as she was sitting in school the sun light brought back the night. The sun reminded her of the day when she was playing under the tree in the front of her house. Her mother had come whipping outside grabbing the children and running to the barn. Pats father was drunk and angry and in his own way wanted to show his family what he had been through in the war. Pats mother tried to save her children the only way she knew how. She had them all come out of hiding and line up against the wall. Pats mother being a strong woman didn’t show fear and by doing this, she was able to save her family. Pat has a hard time dealing with the after effects of remembering this night. Pat has hatred for her mother, she doesn’t really understand what happened and why. This trauma in Pat’s life sets her