Analyzing Post-Traumatic Transformation in Tara Westover’s Educated through Transitivity Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to study the role of transitivity processes in Tara Westover’s memoir, Educated to explore the post-traumatic transformation of the female protagonist who experiences various traumas and distress. This paper utilizes Halliday’s transitivity analysis and Richard Tedeschi’s post-traumatic growth as its analytical and theoretical framework respectively. The analysis explores post-traumatic transformation in the life of the female protagonist Tara. A total of 284 clauses are extracted from the text Educated. All the extracted clauses are categorized into processes and participants etc. to conduct an in-depth analysis of the depiction of the post-traumatic transformation of the protagonist. The study reveals that the material process is the dominant process counted as 137; the verbal process is 63; the mental process is 43; and the behavioral process is 41. It is evident from the findings that the material processes of Tara’s journey from victim to empowered woman reflect a linguistic and psychological shift. Furthermore, the mental processes demonstrate Tara’s belief in her strength and the support of her brother; the behavioral processes reflect Tara’s physical and emotional transformation; and verbal processes indicate Tara’s ability to express herself and engage and connect with others after experiencing different distressing situations thus uncovering her resilience and growth. So, the writer's use of material and other transitivity processes in her text unveils the post-traumatic transformation of the protagonist Tara. This study draws attention to understanding the function of language by creating meaning in the text, hence, signifies the importance of transitivity analysis.