An Analysis of Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
One of the most complex and elaborate characters in Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison is Bone. Throughout the story Bone has to live a life where she thinks that she is the leading mystery of the trouble being caused. She has numerous unhappy situations and is in no way self-satisfied with herself. She doesn 't appreciate who she is physically. She constantly thinks she is the most homely and dull person who causes the most inconvenience in the family. This sense of selflessness is mainly due to the physical and sexual abuse brought upon by Daddy Glen, Bone 's stepfather. Unfortunately, the assaults were stretched out over a long period of time, leaving little chance for Bone to recover as an adult if any at all. I decided to take a more scientific approach to discussing Bone 's future as an adult. The most common disorders I feel Bone is likely to face are posttraumatic stress, cognitive distortions, emotional pain, and avoidance, an impaired sense of self and interpersonal difficulties. After finishing some research I concluded that Bone would most likely be diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. It entails enduring certain psychological symptoms that occur in reaction to a highly distressing, psychically disruptive event. A diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) requires the occurrence of a traumatic event, as well as frequent experiencing of the event through nightmares or intrusive thoughts, a numbing of general responsiveness to, or avoidance of, current events, and persistent symptoms of increased arousal, such as jumpiness, sleep disturbance, or poor concentration. All of these occurrences are a result from the sexual abuse Bone was forced to tolerate from Glen. Triggers of flashbacks include sexual stimuli or interactions, abusive behavior by other adults, disclosure of one 's abuse experiences to others, and reading or seeing sexual or violent media depictions, all of which would more than likely be experienced throughout Bone