„It Ain’t Easy to Forget" - Trauma and Memory in Shirley Ann Grau’s "Homecoming"

Dossier / Travail de Séminaire , 2010 , 20 Pages , Note: 1

Philologie Anglaise - Littérature

“Through sheer numbers, women writers have dominated the contemporary literary scene in the South – that is, since World War II” (Bennett 987). Among them is the talented Pulitzer Prize winner Shirley Ann Grau, who sheds a fresh, new light to common southern themes incorporating them into narratives touched not only by her personal perspective, but also the collective southern heritage and consciousness. The subject matter of my paper will be one of Grau’s short stories entitled “Homecoming”. In this short, yet meaningful account of everyday life in the American South during the Vietnam War Grau unearths a string of relations between life and death, the present and the past, remembering and forgetting, pride and honor as well as patriotism and egoism. She focuses mainly on what remains, but never forgets to neglect what has gone. The strongly southern theme of nostalgia for the lost past is questioned in “Homecoming” as the protagonist struggles to detach herself from the memory of all those who failed to come home. In this paper I would like to primarily focus on the importance of memory as a factor shaping the southern identity.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Biography of Shirley Ann Grau
• Socio-cultural Background
• Textual Analysis
  • Plot
    • Overview
    • Structure
  • Setting
    • Time
    • Location
    • Circumstances
  • Analysis of Characters
    • Main Characters
      • Susan
      • Susan's Mother
    • Minor Characters
      • Harold Carter
      • Susan's Father
      • The Bensons and the Watkins
  • Themes and Motifs
    • War/The Vietnam War and Trauma
    • Memory
    • The Porch as a Place of Storytelling and Stability
  • Narrative Technique
• Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This paper aims to analyze Shirley Ann Grau's short story "Homecoming" and explore the importance of memory in shaping the southern identity. The story depicts everyday life in the American South during the Vietnam War, focusing on the protagonist's struggle to detach herself from the memory of those who failed to return home.

• The impact of the Vietnam War on the American South
• The role of memory and nostalgia in shaping identity
• The portrayal of trauma and its effects on individuals and communities
• The complexities of family relationships and the weight of the past
• The intersection of individual and collective experience in Southern literature

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• The introduction establishes the context of Shirley Ann Grau's work within the landscape of contemporary Southern literature and introduces the focus of the paper on "Homecoming".
• Chapter 2 provides a biographical overview of Shirley Ann Grau, highlighting her early writing career, her marriage, and the themes and issues that she explored in her works.
• Chapter 3 delves into the socio-cultural background of "Homecoming", emphasizing the significance of the Vietnam War in the American South and its impact on Southern society and the experiences of individuals.
• Chapter 4.1 provides an overview of the plot of "Homecoming" and its structure, highlighting the narrative elements that drive the story.
• Chapter 4.2 explores the setting of the story, including the time, location, and specific circumstances that frame the events and the characters.
• Chapter 4.3 examines the main and minor characters of "Homecoming", focusing on their individual motivations, relationships, and roles in the narrative.
• Chapter 4.4 examines the themes and motifs that emerge in "Homecoming", including the impact of trauma, the role of memory, and the significance of place and storytelling.
• Chapter 4.5 analyzes the narrative techniques employed in "Homecoming" and their effects on the reader's understanding of the story.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

This analysis of "Homecoming" focuses on key themes such as the Vietnam War, trauma, memory, nostalgia, family relationships, southern identity, and the role of storytelling. The work also explores the impact of individual and collective experiences on shaping personal narratives and understanding the past. This exploration is further contextualized by examining Shirley Ann Grau's biographical background and the socio-cultural landscape of the American South during the 1970s.

• Université: University of Vienna
• Note: 1
• Auteur: Bachelor Katharina Eder (Auteur)
• Année de publication: 2010
• Pages: 20
• N° de catalogue: V171960
• ISBN (ebook): 9783640915767
• ISBN (Livre): 9783640915361
• Langue: anglais
• mots-clé: ain’t, easy, forget, trauma, memory, shirley, grau’s, homecoming