Georgina Paez
12/15/2020
Psychopathology in Literature, Writing Section

​The Portrayal of PTSD In American Literature

Mental illnesses have shaped society in many different ways. Not only has it shaped the lives of those who suffer from them and their families, but it has also influenced many to speak up about them through a variety of ways. From books, to billboards, to paintings/drawings,movies and shows, different types of mental illnesses have become quite popular themes for many of these outlets. A commonly used mental illness in many of these outlets is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a condition that is caused by experiencing or witnessing a horrifying event that triggers anxiety or anxiety attacks, constant thoughts of the event, nightmares and flashbacks. Throughout time, PTSD has become a center of focus for many American literatures. Authors use a variety of forms to portray this mental illness through ways like, depicting the symptoms of PTSD through characters or its effects on the individuals suffering from it. This use of PTSD sparks the question: How accurately do American Short stories portray PTSD, and what has their impact been on society ?.

For starters, let’s take a look at a very famous American piece written by J.D. Salinger, titled “A Perfect Day For Bananafish.” In this story, the main character, Seymour, suffers from PTSD after having fought in World War II. When he returns home, he goes on a trip to Florida with his wife, Muriel. Throughout the story, we begin to see many ways in which Salinger portrays PTSD. For example, when Muriel arrives at the hotel, she receives a call from her mother, where she is warned to be careful around Seymour, as his behavior has changed since his return. “ ‘Your father talked to Dr. Sivetski…He told him everything. At least, he said he did–you know your father. The trees. That business with the window. Those horrible things he said to Granny about her plans for passing away. What he did with all those lovely pictures from Bermuda–everything…He very definitely told your father there’s a chance–a very great chance, he said–that Seymour may completely lose control of himself. My word of honor.” (Salinger, 2) Here Muriel’s mother warns her about how Seymour’s therapist said he wasn’t in the right condition and was bound to lose control. She explains a series of reckless and abnormal things Seymour has done after his return, such as deliberately crashing Muriel’s father’s car into a tree or having said rude comments to Muriel’s grandmother. In other scenes we see Seymour behaving more childlike rather than an adult. Rather than socializing like the rest of the adults he chooses to be apart from them and hang out with kids. He chooses to play with a young girl named Sybil, at the beach, where he feels comfortable enough to take off his robe in front of her, get in the water and engage in conversations with her. He even sits with another young girl and plays the piano with her. Salinger does this to symbolize Seymour’s detachment with himself, as he tries to hold on to a part of him that he misses: his time as a child, where his mind was innocent and hadn’t witnessed what he had in the war. Much later in the story, Seymour lashes out on a woman in the elevator after accusing her of staring at his feet. He then enters his hotel where he finds Muriel sleeping. He proceeds to sit and watch her sleep for a moment. Then he grabs a gun from his luggage and shoots himself.

Much of Salinger’s portrayal of PTSD through Seymour’s character aligns with many well proven researches. For example, According to “The Link between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Functionality among United States Military Service Members Psychiatrically Hospitalized Following a Suicide Crisis” by Sissi Palma Ribeiro,​ ​Jessica M. LaCroix,​ ​Fernanda De Oliveira, Laura A. Novak, Su Yeon Lee-Tauler,Charles A. Darmour, Kanchana U. Perera, David B. Goldston, Jennifer Weaver, Alyssa Soumoff, and Marjan Ghahramanlou-Holloway, it states, “​In a recent meta-analysis by Fulton and colleagues, the overall prevalence of PTSD among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans was estimated at 23%. Among over 100,000 returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, 25% received at least one mental health diagnosis, and more than half of those were diagnosed with PTSD (52%).” (Ribeiro, Sissi Palma, et al, 1) As stated by this research, is it very likely for veterans to be diagnosed with PTSD after returning back from war, so the fact that Salinger highlighted PTSD through Seymour’s character, who’s a veteran that had recently returned from World War II, is quite precise. To add on, Salinger’s link between PTSD and suicide, in his story, also aligns with many well proven data. “The link between PTSD and suicidal thoughts and behaviors is well-documented among military samples, and suicide is currently a leading cause of death among active duty U.S. military personnel. According to the most recent Department of Defense Suicide Event Report (DoDSER), PTSD was among the most common psychiatric diagnoses for individuals with a history of suicide attempt; two-thirds of active duty personnel with a documented suicide attempt received at least one mental health diagnosis, 20% of whom received a PTSD diagnosis.” (Ribeiro, Sissi Palma, et al, 1) This makes Seymour’s final act in the story, where he grabs a gun and shoots himself, line up with true events, as it is proven how many veterans are likely to have either attempted suicide or actually died from it.

To add on, Salinger is accurate in his use of a common stereotype about PTSD, where many think that those with the condition can be dangerous to people around them. This relates to how Muriel’s mother became anxious about Muriel being around Seymour, as she feared he would end up hurting her. However, in the end, Seymour never really hurt anybody and only ended up hurting/killing himself. According to “Debunking Stereotypes Around Veterans and PTSD” by Lauren Katzenberg, “I’m married to a decorated disabled combat veteran with PTSD. I’ve had people ask if I’m scared he will hurt me, ask if I’m afraid he will “snap” and make statements implying that they believe because he’s been in a war zone and has PTSD that he must have violent tendencies. I always respond that the only thing I ever fear is that he will take his own life. Veterans are more likely to die by suicide than to harm others.” (Katzenberg, 1) In this statement, a woman named Page G. Whorl states how when asked if she fears if her husband with PTSD will harm her, she states that on the contrary she fears he will harm himself. Many experts have inclined to this and stated how individuals with PTSD are more likely to be dangerous towards themselves than others. According to “5 Myths About PTSD” by Ralph Ryback, “In reality, however, neither psychosis nor aggression is a hallmark symptom of PTSD…the vast majority of people with PTSD are nonviolent — less than 8 percent of the PTSD community commits violent behavior.” (Ryback, 1) This is highlighted through Seymour’s character, as he never really hurts any other character in the story, but himself.

Moreover, another famous American literature that depicts PTSD is Toni Morrison’s “Beloved.” In the story the main character, Seth, suffers from PTSD caused by her past as a former slave and the traumatic experiences she endured during those times. Like “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J.D. Salinger, we begin to see Seth reveal her PTSD through her actions in the story. One clear example of how PTSD is shown in the story is through Seth’s constant memories of the past, “​I was talking about time. It’s so hard for me to believe in it. Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But it’s not. Places, places are still there. If a house burns down, it’s gone, but the place—the picture of it—stays, and not just in my rememory, but out there, in the world. What I remember is a picture floating around out there outside my head. I mean, even if I don’t think it, even if I die, the picture of what I did, or knew, or saw is still out there. Right in the place where it happened.” (Morrison, 19-20) Here, Seth talks about her constant memories of the past, which she refers to as “rememories”, due to the fact she’s always having flashbacks of them and can never move on. The memories she refers to are the ones of her time as a slave when she’d get abused and had to run away with her children. As well as her attempt at killing her children during her escape, to not let them fall in the hands of slavery, which she accomplished by only killing her youngest daughter and running away with the other two kids. Another way we see Seth’s PTSD is through her reckless actions. In one scene, Seth impulsively attacks someone who she confused for someone else. “Little girl with an ice pick. How close did she get to him? Right up on him, they say. Before Denver and them grabbed her and Ella put her fist in her jaw. He got to know Sethe was after him. He got to…I tell you something, if she had got to him, it’d be the worst thing in the world for us.” (Morrison, pg 134) By this point in the story, Seth’s PTSD had worsened, with her entire life being controlled by her past as her mind constantly dwells in the events of her time as a slave. In this scene in the story, Seth goes outside and sees a Caucasian man who meant no harm. She confuses him with another white man, called Schoolteacher, from her past. Schoolteacher was Seth’s slavemaster who heavily abused his slaves. It was because of him that Seth killed one of her children, with fear that he would capture them again. Her trauma was triggered in this moment and she recklessly tried attacking the harmless Caucasian man with an ice pick. However, she was stopped just in time before she could do any harm.

Morrison’s portrayal of PTSD proves accuracy but can be questionable in some ways. For starters, Seth’s constant memories of her past and the events she lived through aligns with what experts describe as the main signs of PTSD. According to ​Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Evidence-Based Research for the Third Millennium” by Javier Iribarren, Paolo Prolo, Negoita Neagos, and Francesco Chiappelli, “Subjects with PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks. The disorder soon leads to impairment of the ability to function in social or family life, which more often than not results in occupational instability, marital problems and divorces, family discord and difficulties in parenting.” (Iribarren, Javier, et al, 1) Seth accurately portrays the frequent flashbacks that individuals with PTSD experience. However, Morrison’s display of PTSD is debatable when it came to Sethe’s attack on Mr. Bodwin. As explained previously, it is very unlikely for individuals with PTSD to attack or hurt someone, so this portrayal may seem like it’s feeding the stereotypes. “Violent behaviour and post-traumatic stress disorder in US Iraq and Afghanistan veterans” by Eric B. Elbogen, Sally C. Johnson, H. Ryan Wagner, Connor Sullivan, Casey T. Taft, and Jean C. Beckham, ​states“Veterans with both PTSD and alcohol misuse had a substantially higher rate of subsequent severe violence (35.9%) compared with veterans with alcohol misuse without PTSD (10.6%), PTSD without alcohol misuse (10.0%) or neither PTSD nor alcohol misuse (5.3%). Using multiple regression, we found that veterans with PTSD and without alcohol misuse were not at significantly higher risk of severe violence than veterans with neither PTSD nor alcohol misuse.” (Elbogen, Eric B, et al, 1) In this research, a study was conducted to test if individuals with PTSD were linked to being more violent. The study was done on patients who developed PTSD from war, which relates to Seth since she developed PTSD through experiencing violent and abusive events in her life. The study found that individuals with PTSD are violent when exposed to alcohol. However those with PTSD who aren’t exposed to alcohol have relatively lower rates of violence, yet in the story Seth was completely sober when she attacked Mr.Bodwin. However, when we look at it from a different perspective her attack can be justified by the fact that Mr. Bowdwin could be categorized as one of Seth’s triggers. According to “What Are PTSD Triggers?” by Smitha Bhandari, “Anything that reminds you of what happened right before or during a trauma is a potential trigger. They’re usually tied to your senses. You may see, feel, smell, touch, or taste something that brings on your symptoms…Seeing a person related to the trauma may set off a PTSD reaction. Or someone may have a physical trait that’s a reminder. For example, if someone with a beard mugged you, other bearded men may bring back memories.” (Bhandari, 1-2) Research proves that individuals with PTSD aren’t likely to attack someone in such ways, but at the same time Seth’s attack can also be explained, as triggers for those with this condition come in various ways, and although most times aren’t harmful, can still cause one to act out. Seth’s violent attack can definitely be questionable when it comes to accuracy, which leaves it open to discussion.

Furthermore, it is also important to question the impact that these specific American literatures have on society. When we think about how mental illnesses tend to be portrayed in society, many times it’s not always positive; in fact there are a lot of negative stereotypes about people who are mentally ill. These stereotypes tend to associate mentally ill people with being dangerous, freaks, or even crazy; thus allowing people who don’t know much about mental health problems to believe the stereotypes and continue spreading inaccurate information. Since literature is so popular in our society, it is highly important that whenever authors talk about this topic they try not to put false information out there, so that they can educate people instead of contributing to false ideas. According to “Using Literature to Confront the Stigma of Mental Illness, Teach Empathy, and Break Stereotypes” by Kia Jane Richmond, “Books such as these can help English teachers to break stereotypes of mental illness..In one English methods course, students selected two novels as part of a unit on literature circles. The Perks of Being a Wallflower​ ​by Stephen Chbosky is an epistolary novel focused on fifteen-year-old Charlie, who first turns to alcohol and drugs, then seeks psychiatric help for symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder…A few assignments to help students focus on the mental health issues while teaching ​The Perks of Being a Wallflower ​include: Writing a poem or drawing a picture that represents Charlie’s emotional state when dealing with PTSD or anxiety…Discussing how you might help a friend who was dealing with a similar problem (Providing students with informative literature and/or web sites could be beneficial before this activity.), Discussing in small groups how Charlie is treated by others in the book and which characters provide empathy and/or help.” (Richmond, 4) This quote depicts how significant American literature truly is for society, they help raise awareness about mental illnesses like PTSD and fight the stereotypes. They educate the younger generations to understand mental illnesses more so that they won’t develop ignorant beliefs about them, and help those around them who suffer from such conditions. In addition, literature like “A Perfect Day For Bananafish” by J.D. Salinger or “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, can help those with similar mental illnesses to the characters in the story, relate and feel less alone with how they are feeling. It can even help educate those who are mentally ill themselves, as they can learn more about what they’re going through, through the experiences the characters in the stories deal with. For example, in the novel “Beloved,” Seth can actually be a huge help for many women with PTSD. According to an interview with a non profit organizer for PTSD, called Dr. Eugene Lipov, “Number one people always think about veterans as the most common PTSD, that’s really not true. The most common sector/group of people/cohort are abused women. 1 out of 3 women are sexually abused in a lifetime, which is a horrible number if you think about it.” Although the circumstances differ, Seth develops PTSD from her experiences as a slave, where she went through a lot of abuse from men, including rape. All of the abuse heavily affected Seth’s life, however in the end of the book we see a sign of hope for Seth where she has the chance to move on and lead a better life. This can help many women who read “Beloved”, to not feel so isolated with what they went through, and grow faith that like Seth, they too will get better, move on and start a better path for themselves.

In conclusion, there exists many more literature out there based on PTSD. It is highly significant that we read and analyze these pieces, so that we can question their accuracy. At the end of the day, this isn’t simply a small topic, PTSD is very real and many people are out there suffering from it. We have to make sure that whenever this topic is brought up, the right information is being put out, because in many ways this heavily shapes society and societal standards in general. By writing accurate information in their stories, authors can help raise awareness about PTSD through their characters. They can also be a source of support for those who in real life have it and their families. Lastly, they can help better society by educating students in school through these stories, and erasing the deceiving stereotypes about PTSD.

​ Works Cited

Salinger, J. D. “A Perfect Day For Bananafish.” ​The New Yorker​, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/01/31/a-perfect-day-for-bananafish.

Ribeiro, Sissi Palma, et al. “The Link between Post traumatic Stress Disorder and Functionality among United States Military Service Members Psychiatrically Hospitalized Following a SuicideCrisis.”​Healthcare(Basel,Switzerland),​ MDPI,7Aug.2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6164520/.

Katzenberg, Lauren. “Debunking Stereotypes Around Veterans and PTSD.” ​The New York Times​, The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/magazine/stereotypes-veterans-ptsd-newsletter.html.

Ryback, Ralph. “5 Myths About PTSD.” ​Psychology Today​, Sussex Publishers, 31 Oct. 2016, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-truisms-wellness/201610/5-myths-about-ptsd.

Parvin, Momtaj. “Download Beloved Pdf Book By Toni Morrison.” ​PdfCorner.com​, 27 May 2019, pdfcorner.com/download-beloved-pdf-book-by-toni-morrison/.

Iribarren, Javier, et al. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Evidence-Based Research for the Third Millennium.” ​Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : ECAM,​ Oxford University Press, Dec. 2005, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1297500/.

Elbogen, Eric B, et al. “Violent Behavior and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in US Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.” ​The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science,​ Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006087/.

Bhandari, Smitha. “What Are PTSD Triggers?” ​WebMD​, WebMD, 15 May 2019, www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-are-ptsd-triggers.

Richmond, Jane Kia. “Using Literature to Confront the Stigma of Mental Illness, Teach Empathy, and Break Stereotypes.” ​Language Arts Journal of Michigan, 2​ 1 November 2014, https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2038&context=lajm

Tastytrade1. “Dr. Eugene Lipov of Erase PTSD Now | Bootstrapping in America.” ​YouTube,​ YouTube, 5 Feb. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F2FWqZDqU4.