Genre
Science
Setting and Context
Dr. Van Der Kolk writes primarily about trauma that Americans experience
Narrator and Point of View
The book is told from Dr. Van Der Kolk's point of view
Tone and Mood
The book's tone is informative, cold, calculated, clinical, mathematical, and sometimes sad.
Protagonist and Antagonist
There is no clear protagonist and antagonist structure in this book. Trauma, however, is a clear negative thing and plague in the book.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the book involves the people who struggle with their trauma every day, as well as their struggle to get over and heal from their trauma.
Climax
This is a non-fiction book that utilizes a narrative structure. Thus, it does not have a climax.
Foreshadowing
When discussing how a person is affected by their trauma, Dr. Van Der Kolk foreshadows some of the potential ways said person who get better.
Understatement
The extent to which trauma impacts their lives is understated by scores of Americans.
Allusions
To research, concepts, and literature related to psychology, to popular culture (including books, movies, and T.V. series),
Imagery
When talking about trauma, Dr. Van Der Kolk uses intense imagery to underscore how awful the things that people went through were.
Paradox
Things like drama and sports, both of which have seemingly nothing to do with trauma, can be used to cure trauma.
Parallelism
The story of many of the people in the book - war veterans, abuse victims, children of alcoholics, etc. - are all paralleled with each other because of their shared trauma experiences.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Trauma is used a substitute for PTSD.
Personification
The trauma that the people mentioned in the book experience is frequently personified and given human characteristics.
