Murcia1

MiriamMurcia
ProfessorDitch
English113B
8May2015
BooksoverWar

Overcoming
traumafromaneventsuchaswarcanaffectapersonslife.
Inmanycases
it
isdifficulttoovercometraumaticexperiences.Guernseywasasmallislandwithpeoplethathad
todealandcopewiththeGermanOccupation.ThepeopleontheislandofGuernsey,feeling
threatenedbytheGermansoldierswouldcreatesecretsocialsocieties,communities,orbook
clubstocreateawelcomingenvironmentwithinawarrelatedexperience.
ThePotatoPeelPie
SocietywasinmanywaysareliefordistractionoftheGermanoccupationthroughthepowerof
literature
andsocialinteraction.
Inthebook
,
"
TheGuernseyLiteraryandPotatoPeelPie
Society
,"byMaryAnnShafferandAnnieBarrows,
thepeopleofthisliterarysocietycreateda
communityandabookclubtobeacopingmechanismtodealwiththeGermanoccupation.
Tobeginwith
one
ofthecharactersthat
stands
outwasElizabeth.Throughoutthebook
sheisportrayedasastrongcharacterandfriend.She
is
thereasonthesocietybegan.
They
explainhowthePotatoPeelSocietywasacopingwayofdealingwithconstantthreatfrom
Germansoldiers.Whentheyhadtheirfirstbookmeetingtheyhadnotrealizedthattheypast
theircurfewtime,whichmeantthattheycouldpossiblybedetainedbyagermansoldierandbe
senttoaconcentrationcamp.TheywereontheirwayhomeuntiltheystoppedbecauseGerman
soldiershadapproachedthem.Threatenedtobe
senttojailortoaconcentrationcamp,Elizabeth
jumpedforwardthegermansoldiertolietohiminorderforherandherfriendstobefreeandgo

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homeandnotbesenttocampbecauseoftheiractiontocreateabookclubtoeatandpasstheir
timeonbooksinsteadoftheirsocialsituation."DawseyhastoldyouthattheSocietywas
inventedasarusetokeepthegermansfromarrestingmydinnerguests,..."(Shaffer&Barrows
48)InthisquoteAmelia
a
memberintheSocietyiswritingtoJulietexplaininghowtheincident
occurredthatthesocietyhadbeencreated.Thisisimportantbecausethiswasthebeginningof
the
society's
meetings,thebeginningofthedistractionofbeingpartofawarrelatedexperience.
Thisnextcharacter,namedEbenRamsey
hadnointerestinbooks
throughouthis
life.
In
awarrelatedsituationhejoinedthePotatoPeelPieSocietyandfoundhispreferedgenreof
literature
.Ramseyfoundwaystoexpresshisfeelingsbyrelatingquotestothewar.Thiswashis
wayofcopingandfeelingconsoledthroughouttheGermanoccupation."IwishI'dknownthose
wordsonthedayIwatchedthoseGermantroopsland..."(63Shaffer&Barrow)EbenRamseyis
writingaboutaquotethatWilliamShakespearehadoncesaidandadmireditbecausesomehow
ifinthemomentthattheGermansarrivedhewouldhavesaid
thatphrase
thathecouldfeel
consoledandmorecopedtotheoccupation.Thisissignificantbecauseforsomeonetochange
theirlife
dueto
theirsocialsituationbyadistractionsuchasreadingcanhelpapersoncopeor
feelasenseofreliefduringtraumatictimes.Overcomingtraumaforsomepeopleishardbut
findingmechanismstocopeordealwiththesituationscandistractandenlightenapersonduring
theirexperience.
IsolaPribbyhadalsofoundadistractioninthebookssheread
s
.Beingamemberinthe
societyshefounddiscoveriesthatdistractedherdailylife.IsolaPribbystartedreadingmore
sciencebook
s
andfoundaninterestinPhrenology."I'vefoundoutmoreinthelastthreedays
thanIknewinmywholelifebefore."(257Barrow&Shaffer)Isolahadbeenreadingabooksent

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toherbySidney
,
anothercharacterinthebookandfoundoutainterestanddistractiontothe
biggersurroundingsthatweretheGermanoccupationatthetime.Hercopingmechanismwas
thebooksshereadandhadsomethingknewinherlifetodistractherastimepassed.Thisis
importantbecausetheknowledgethatisheldwithinreadingandlearningfromwhatyouhave
readcanmakeyouhaveaninterestthatyouwanttofurtherseekinlife.
Inthebook,

RhetoricForRadicals
byJasonDelGandio,explainshowreadingcanbe
usefulinaperson'slife.Thisbookisintendedtobetterunderstandandusetheknowledgeof
rhetoricbutgivesinsightonhowcommunicationcomesindifferentformsandreadingcanalter
aperson'scommunicationskillsandevenmakechangesinaperson'slife.DelGandiomentions
inthebookhowreadingasmuchaspossiblecancontributetoapersonslifeexperiences.For
example,Readingexposesyoutodifferentideas,argument,styles,usesofgrammaticalrules
andrhetoricalapproaches.(54DelGandio)Heexpressesthesignificanceofreadingandwhat
youcantakeoutofit.CertainlythepeoplewithintheGuernseyliterarysocietyhadusedreading
indifferentwaysbutstillhadacommonground.Thesocietydidinfactmakereadingacoping
mechanismbecausewithoutthemhavingtogothroughtheirexperiencewiththeGerman
occupationtheycouldnthavetakensomethingoutofeverybooktheyhadreadandusedto
distractthemselves.Withoutthemknowingittheywerelearningandtakingtheirtimetoread
somethingknewandtrytounderstanditastonotthinkabouttheirexperience.Theyalsofound
relationshipswithinthereadingsandtheirexperiences.
Anotherexamplecouldbehowpeopletendtostartreadabookandenduplovingthe
contextofthebook.Sometimespeoplegetdistractedinstoriesthatbookstellanddistractthem
fromtheirsurroundingsastheyreadandcomprehendwhattheyarereading.Forinstance,

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MarinaNemattheauthorof"
TheSecondhandBookseller
"findsherinterestinbooksandends
uplovingabookshereadsthatwasgiventoherbyalocalbookstoreseller."Threedayslater,I
hadreadTheLion,theWitchandtheWardrobetwiceandhadfalleninlovewith.Iwanted
more."(ch.54Nemat)InthisquoteNemathadfoundaconnectionwithbooksandfelttheneed
toreadmoreandmore.SheaswellhadSometimeswhenpeopleneedadrivetoforgetordistract
theirsurroundings,theyfindthingsthathelpthembetterdealwithsituations,sometimesthat
copingmechanismcouldbethetextofabook.
Furthermore,overcomingtraumacanbedifficultbutbuildingsmallcommunities
,
bookclubs
orgatheringsocialgroupssuchastheGuernseyLiteraryandPotatoPeelSociety,are
builttohelpcopeandeasetheideaoftraumatictimes.Inthetext,TraumaticLossandMajor
Disaster:StrengtheningFamilyandCommunityResiliencebyFromaWalsh,heexplainsthe
difficultiesandwaysofcopingwithlossinmajordisasters.Heexplainshowpeopleform
communitiesandrelationshipswithothersasaformofguidancetooverlooksituationsoutofan
individual'scontrolsuchastheGermanoccupationinGuernsey.
Walshstatesthat,
Withmajor
traumaandloss,itiscrucialtomobilizeinstitutionalservicesaswellaskin,social,and
communitynetworksforemotionalandpracticalsupport.(214Walsh)Walshisstatingthat
creatingcommunitiesorsocialgroupscanhelpandevendistractindividualswithtraumatic
experiences,thatinasenseitisimportantandcanbuildaformofsupport.Thisissignificant
becausehavingtochangelifetoconformtoatraumaticchangecannotbeeasytodealwithbut
findingormakingsocialconnectionscaneasetheexperience.Ibelievethateveryindividualin
thePotatoPeelSocietyhadadistractionwhentheyreadbecauseenteringtheworldofabook
canchangeyourperspectiveofyourownlifeandevencreatechangesormakenewdiscoveries

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thatcanrelatetoanyindividual.InthecaseoftheGuernseyliterarysociety,memberssuchas
EbenRamsey,IsolaPribbyorElizabethreadbooksthatcaughttheirinterestandchangedtheir
viewoftheirstateofbeing.Theycametobuildasocietythatwoulddistractaswellasinterest
thememberstoknewthingsandultimatelycreateatypeofchangeintheireverydaylives.
Inaddition,
manypeoplecan
arguethattraumaticexperiencesmayonlyaffectthebody
buttoovercometraumaordealwiththreateningortraumaticexperiencesitsbeginswiththe
mentalcontrolorfeelingthatcoexistswiththeideaofbeingtraumatizedorinthecaseof
Guernsey,threatenedbytheGermanOccupation.InthetextTraumaandthesymbolicfunction
ofthemindbyCarloBonomi,hearguesthattraumaticexperiencesdoinfactaffectthemind
psychologicallywithintheoccurrence.ThatiswhyKardinerrejectedthestandpointofapure
ideogenesis,suggestingthatthenucleusofthetraumaticneurosiswassomethingwhich
concerned

thebodyandnotthemind
.(46BonomiC)Heisrefuting
anotherpersons
argument
becauseinhisideologicalworldtraumaticeventsdocausedamageinthemind,trauma...rather
destroysthecapacityofmentalization.(46)
Thisarticleillustrates
,sincetraumacanexistand
evendisruptyourmind,booksandliteraturealsoafoundationorcommunitycanhelpyoucope
withtraumaticexperiences.ThiswasthePotatoPeelPieSocietyswayofdealingwiththe
situationandthethreat.
Inconclusion,overcomingtraumaticexperiencescouldbedifficulttopeoplewhogivein
totheevents
andcopingwiththreatening
surroundingssuchastheGermanOccupation.
Constantlyhavingtoliveanddealwithtraumaticevents
canalsobuildcommunitiesorsmall
socialgroupssuchasTheGuernseyLiteraryandPotatoPeelPieSocietytodealwithsuch
historicalevent.Readingandliterature,
canmakeyoufeelbetterin
acountryoroccupation

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(German)thatpeoplecouldexperience.Literatureisandcanbeusedasacopingmechanism
becauseit
can
drive
areader
toafanaticalworld

fictionalbookornot,readingandliteraturecan
distractthemind.

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WorksCited
Barrows,AnnieandShaffer,MaryAnn,
TheGuernseyLiteraryandPotatoPeelPieSociety

2009byRandomHouseInc
Bonomi,Carlo."TraumaAndTheSymbolicFunctionOfTheMind."
InternationalForumOf
Psychoanalysis
13.1/2(2004):4550.
DelGandio,Jason
RhetoricforRadicals
Canada JasonDelGandio2008
Nemat,MarinaH.
TheSecondHandbookSeller
TheNortonFieldGuidetoWriting. New
York:W.W.Norton,2009.57175.Print
Walsh,Froma.TraumaticLossandMajorDisasters:StrengtheningFamilyandCommunity
Resilience.FamilyProcess, 2007