Anonymous

Jaylin Pinguil           

Does Anon from the play Anon(ymous) suffer from dissociative amnesia resulting from his experience with war?

    War is an element that greatly affects individuals both physically and mentally. People who are often caught in the middle of war often face trauma as loved ones are lost in the crossfire, or families are separated as they try to escape looking for a safer home. In Anonymous we see how Anon is greatly affected by war especially after being separated from his mother. He copes by constantly referring to himself as someone else or as no one stating “ I changed my name, I became Anonymous, my name is Anonymous.” Part of his coping mechanisms refers to him becoming forgetful or repressing past memories. As they often stem from torment and experiences of the war. How he hears bombs dropping, smells the sweet and spicy odor of death or seeing bombs planted like flowers in the ground. Often leading him to block out information often as a result of these stressful or traumatic events.

Cited sources-

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013.

Effect of War Upon the Minds of Children
Bert I. Beverly
Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1943 Jul; 33(7): 793–798.

1. Does my research question make sense?
2. Is my question to lengthy? Show I cut it down?
3. As I continue writing should I dedicate a paragraph where I only talk about and explain what dissociative amnesia is? Should it include Anon’s mother?
4. As this is the first paragraph is my research question and examples straightforward?
5. Is the idea interesting?