Research purpose

This paper aims to analyze the posttraumatic growth of Lindsey Salmon in The Lovely Bones. Alice Sebold, the author of The Lovely Bones, was raped when she was a college student. Susie’s experience can be seen as a reflection of Sebold’s painful memory. Alice Sebold, as a traumatized writer, did not choose to put all of her emotion into the traumatized Susie. Instead, she put much of her positive emotion in to the characterization of Lindsey Salmon. To analyze Lindsey Salmon from the perspective of psychology not only contributes to the understanding of the theme as well as the character, but also contributes to the interpretation of the characterizing intention of a traumatized writer.

This paper aims to fulfill its task from three aspects--Lindsey Salmon and bereavement, the posttraumatic stress disorder, and the posttraumatic growth. In the story, Susie Salmon’s being murdered means Lindsey’s bereavement, which causes lindsey traumatic grief. Susie went to her paradise after death, while Lindsey had to deal with all kinds of problems in the wake of Susie’s death. She confronted three major contradictions--Susie’s death vs Lindsey’s life, parents’ indifference vs need for connection, outsiders’ concern vs need for isolation--which aggravated he posttraumatic stress. If Susie Salmon reflects the painful memory of Alice Sebold, Lindsey Salmon represents the author’s desired reconfiguration. With subjective and objective factors functioning together, Lindsey fulfilled her posttraumatic growth. From avoidance to acceptance, from detachment to re-connection, from internalizing problems to expressing emotions, Lindsey gradually recovered from her trauma and continued her life. This paper refers to Stephen Joseph’s research on posttraumatic growth, analyzing the poattraumatic growth of Lindsey form personal changes, philosophical changes, and relationship changes.

By means of literature research and text analysis, I want to analyze the impact of bereavement on Lindsey and to verify the existence of Lindsey’s posttraumatic stress disorder. Then by collecting the details in Lindsey’s recovery from trauma, I want to manifest Lindsey’s posttraumatic growth.

Research significance

1. To interpret the character’s development from a psychological perspective

2. To understand the characterizing intention of a traumatized author

Research Actuality