Finding the Lost Self: Autofiction and Post-Trauma Acculturation

Abstract

The aim of this practice-led thesis is to explore how autofiction can be used as a narrative mode to depict traumatic experiences and post-trauma acculturation after childhood. Autofiction is examined for its literary flexibility and ability to offer a detached perspective that enables the author to approach traumatic events and objectify the experience. Situated within this context, this research unpacks the psychological effects of controlled communication and indoctrination on identity and relationships, offering critical self-reflection and exploring the relationship of autofiction to trauma through a study of Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried.