Trauma and Resilience in "Orphan" Protagonists: A Psychoanalytic Study of Tanika Gupta's The Waiting Room and William Saroyan's Hello Out There

Abstract

Trauma and resilience are the essential elements in understanding human experiences. These two themes provide authors with core insights into the human condition and reflecting it in their literary creation. This study employs post-trauma growth in "orphan" protagonists through a psychoanalytic lens, focusing on Tanika Gupta's The Waiting Room and William Saroyan's Hello Out There. The term "orphan" is used metaphorically to shed light on the traumatic condition of the characters who experience deep psychological, social, and emotional disconnection, rather than just the literal meaning of parental loss. By analyzing the role of the two main characters in these two plays, the study explores the psychological and emotional challenges and journeys of the protagonists, showing the intersection of vulnerability and resilience .It is the journey of self-discovery and self-reconstruction. The study offers a foundational understanding of trauma narratives in drama, emphasizing and enhancing the argument about fragility and psycho-emotional recovery. While most research projects focus on suffering and distress, this study explores and examines repression and resilience in the two plays drawing on theories mainly from Freud, with supplementary insights from Jung and Herman. The study also fills the gap in trauma literature by examining post-trauma growth (PTG) in "orphan" protagonist. This perspective is often overlooked in psychoanalytic trauma studies. The study follows MLA formatting and ends with a list of works cited.