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Devon Williams
Professor Ditch
English 113B
1 April 2015
Burying the Worst
In society people experience loss which can be a loss of health, or the loss of their
dearest, some loss their home, or the others loss their country or social class. Almost everybody
has suffered some pain and anguish. Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, authors of the
epistolary novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, include characters on the
island of Guernsey for whom, trauma is a problem that may remain permanent. In the novel there
is a covert group of local people who found an interest in reading books together called The
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Connections between books help form something
bigger than what they had imagined. When creating a community which, provides an escape
from the dangerous war going on near the island of Guernsey. From a perspective of war I
learned that many islanders who deal with war can have an illness called Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. Many characters in the society have either lost something or someone they love.
Trauma is a big issue in todays society, making peoples lives more difficult than it should be by
scaring their memories temporary or permanently. Although the Germans are occupying the
island of Guernsey by taking away their loved ones, The Potato Peel Society overcomes the
trauma they face by reading books and creating bonds causing them to find themselves through
believing in their sense of hope.

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In the Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society, the society consists of many
members who face triumph during living on the island. Dawsey Adams is a member of the
society who had stuttering problem in his youth and between the absences of his parents in his
life not to include the solitude that came with farming. Dawsey could have been faced similar
actions like in the quote given by Ron Langer he states in Combat Trauma, Memory, and The
World War II Veteran. That Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is experienced, witnessed, or been
confronted with an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury (51).
This quote is a good example that shows that Dawsey could have been worst for even though
there was an occupation happening and through the war. With the creation of the Guernsey
Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Dawsey finally develops a strong network of companions
and breaks out of his shell and forms a friendship between Juliet even though they had not met in
person yet.
Elizabeth McKenna and Dawsey Adams both face obstacles; however they both face two
different situations. She has the most contact with the German soldiers. The islanders all had
stories about the German occupation that they would tell her. Elizabeth held a lot of relation with
most of the islanders relation most often as a close friend. She has been missing since being
deported from Guernsey as punishment for helping a Polish slave worker. She had been taken to
a concentration camp which damaged her and the Potato Peel society. Many of the members of
the society hoped she would return one day and that she would be okay when she comes back,
and I would agree. I agree to how the members are thinking because I wouldnt give up hope
easy and always hoping for the best. Word eventually reaches the islanders that she was killed
later at a concentration camp. The islanders are grateful that the seemingly endless period of
assumption is over to find out the truth. Amelia Maugery somberly sums up the islanders'

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mentality, stating, "We had been praying that she would return to us, but it is better to know the
truth than to live in uncertainty." (190). Because Elizabeth had united the islanders during and
after the occupation with the continued meetings of the literary society, they awaited her return to
simply feel whole again.
Remarkably, even though they face obstacles memories and dreams of the war remain on
Guernsey. From another point of view the islanders show that trauma is an experience of life that
is complex. It is similar to a reaction when your life or someone else is in danger. The society
was having problems avoiding getting caught by the Germans similar to Elizabeth. With their
sense of hope they all knew that it is the key to their survival. With their lives being on the line
they had to risk is all for survival at all means. This can relate to the reading of Jelena Jaukovic
A traumatic experience is strong if a sudden event, that arouses helplessness and an unsafe
existence (178). This quote is clearing up why the traumatic experience of seeing Elizabeth
being taken away had such an effect on the people on the in the society: They as if feel like their
life is in danger as time goes by.
Moreover, society is able to see the shining light on the path to reality by finding
happiness through reading books and making friendships. Members of the Potato Peel Pie
society learned from others that kindness and bravery never wavered even while Elizabeth
experienced the horrors of a concentration camp. Members in the society illustrates that
remaining hopeful and creating friendships will give others strength. For instance, in the film
Happy by Roko Belic shows that happiness is found in different ways. In the film we see how
life is very difficult for Hiruko Uchino a raising her child. Since she has lost her husband to over
working but she still strives on. The character Hiruko in the film loses her husband due to over
working and didnt have enough time to sleep or some nights any rest at all. She wasnt the only

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lady whos husband was being harmed by the deaths of over working. By finding more people
that have the similar situation as her they formed a group to protest against overworking workers.
This relates to overcoming trauma by showing that helplessness is always involved in a trauma
experience and challenging to overcome. With the power of others and motivation you can
overcome the odds you face and always make a change.
The occupation on the island of Guernsey was very harming to many of the islanders
living there. Facing brutal damages to their food and the struggle for survival was very hard for
everyone. Many of them didnt think of asking anyone with higher authority for money or food
similar to the novel by Marina Nemat, The Secondhand Book Seller, Nemat states, I was afraid
to ask my mother for money, so I decided to sell my pencil box (572). This quote contrasts to
what some of the islanders were going through even though they feared the Germans they
needed help. They avoided getting help from others because the society was reminded of the
trauma, they were scared in particular anything that may have already served as a 'trigger' for
anxiety feelings. It also states how in the society they would have secret meetings to avoid all the
soldiers. The result of this leads the islanders to kill dogs and cats so that they can have
something to eat because the Germans were taking all of their supplies and foods.
Although some might argue that overcoming trauma is easy task to do, even though you
may not and even myself how it is to go through a traumatic experience its not easy. The novel
illustrates that people can overcome trauma of war through hope, friendship, and forming a
reading society. They experienced hardship they overcame the trauma by reading which helped
them forget about the bad parts of the German occupation. The Germans were are on the island
for longer than expected and took most of the food away from the people living there. That
means we have to understand the integral experience of the victims suffering and objective

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social transition which each member had an experience going through. Hope, friendship, and
forming communities arent an easy process. Thiers still the problem of war occupation and there
is still a great deal of struggle to go through.
Overcoming the effects of trauma it is necessary to change these reactions and begin to
see events in a different light. As in the novel the book club members demonstrate members
coming together, creating a book club, reading, and making connections help each other
overcome all the problems they face. In the beginning of the novel we see that many members
had a bond that was just starting to form but as time passed they began to see life in another
light. Even though this can be dramatic and hard to get over the connections between them
helped form hope. As seen before with the Japanese mother love will help grow and overcome
obstacles you face. They had lost everything from loved ones, animals, social class and money
shows that together building bonds and making connections that these help build a brighter
future to look forward to.

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Works Citied
Happy. Dir. Roko Belic. Perf. Anne Bechsgaard. Wadi Rum Productions, 2011. DVD.
Jaukovic, Jelena. "The Manners of Overcoming Stress Generated By War Conflict
Trauma." European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law & Criminal Justice 10.2/3 (2002):
177-181. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
LANGER, RON. "Combat Trauma, Memory, and The World War II Veteran." War,
Literature & The Arts: An International Journal of The Humanities 23.1
(2011): 50-58. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Mar. 2015.
Nemat, Marina. "The Second Hand Bookseller." Literacy Publisher, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.