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A Study on the main character's damaged self that leads to her trauma and the ways she copes with her trauma to be a whole person as seen through Elaine Risley in Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye

This study on Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye is
intended to indicate how a damaged-self in formation
which befalls the main character, Elaine Risley, in her
childhood has led to her trauma and affected her until
her later life. How damaged Elaine's self is and her
ways to deal with her trauma are analyzed with the help
of theory of characterization and some psychological
theories in this thesis. In the story, Elaine has
undergone unpleasant childhood because of being
tortured by her friends so that she cannot build her
self-confidence. Yet, the most important point to be
stuck out in this study is the way to master and banish
the trauma. On the one hand, running away from trauma
is only meant to delay the trauma not to haunt for a
moment. Taking revenge on the cause of the trauma on
the other hand is merely to get a pseudo-satisfaction
on one's self which is also obtained for a moment.
Fundamentally, the best solution to drive away the
trauma is by coping with it; and more importantly,
making peace with the cause of it. Through the
analysis directed in this thesis, the writer has
verified that Elaine, who also copes with her trauma,
is at last able to expel her trauma and be a whole person.