War Trauma Disorder: A Dual Representation of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

Abstract

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain tells the story of a young American soldier, Billy, who is traumatized and horrified after experiencing near-death experiences in war. He is facing psychological trauma, which leads to PTSD. The dual representation theory by Brewin et al. has been applied to the text, which will talk in detail about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A major traumatic event causes individuals to experience disturbing images and flashbacks, which lead to PTSD. This research will center on traumatic experiences from the past that are relived in the present through flashbacks and nightmares, which later on increase their guilt and fear. Moreover, the struggle of soldiers can also be seen when their psychological state is belittled and ignored. Instead, they are glorified publicly for young civilians to follow. The primary purpose of this research is to analyze environmental cues related to trauma, causing disturbing images, flashbacks, and the relevant constructs of PTSD through dual representation theory.