Browsing by Author "Wilson, Gillian"

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    Gewalt und Trauma. Erfahrungen deutscher Kinder im sudlichen Afrika : eine Untersuchung von vier Romanen
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Wilson, Gillian; Annas, Rolf; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis will examine how violence towards children and its traumatic consequences are portrayed. Violence often refers to that which is physical and grandiose (i.e. extreme) in nature. It can, however, take on subtle forms which may not necessarily be physical. What is apparent, however, is that children are most affected by violence because of their dependency on the people around them to care for them. How exactly is victimization and violence towards children different to the victimization and violence that adults experience? How is the violence and subsequent trauma that children experience adequaely represented within the four novels? I propose two hypotheses. Firstly, children seem to be part of the “ignored” section of society, often because of their trauma. This in turn makes their victimization far more damaging than would be experienced by an adult. Because of this, they are left to work through the traumatic experiences and understand it for themselves and this within itself is not a full-proof manner to deal with trauma. These aspects are addressed in more detail within the thesis itself. This thesis comprises of 5 chapters. Chapter one is merely an introduction with summaries of the four novels. Chapter two entails a historical background in which the novels are set, which includes Hitler's Third Reich, the Holocaust and the murder of millions as well as the South African Apartheid regime. Chapter three entails a theoretical background pertaining to various forms of abuse. In chapter four, an analysis of the four novels in question is undertaken. Chapter five is merely a conclusion and summary of the findings. The biggest realisation of this thesis by far has been that traumatic events during childhood without therapeutic intervention can have far-reaching consequences even into adulthood. This includes mood disorders like depression, various anxiety disorders including post traumatic stress disorder and even various personality disorders. What is interesting to note, however, is how protagonists in the novel cope with their trauma and how this trauma becomes a major influencing factor in forming their identities. Storytelling is also central to understanding the world from a child's perspective and this storytelling is used to navigate traumatic events so to say.