Second shot

The aim of the creative component of this research project was to explore through the medium of a contemporary young adult (YA) novel the impact that a motor vehicle accident can have on individuals, relationships and families when serious permanent injuries such as traumatic amputation are sustained as well as examining the psychological and social context of amputation. The novel, Second Shot, traces the aftermath of a single vehicle accident from the perspective of two of the adolescent occupants, one of whom sustains a below-knee amputation. With the dual threads of road trauma and amputation the exegesis examines selected examples of crash writing and amputee narratives from the critical perspectives of trauma theory and disability studies. It then traces the development of the amputee protagonist from the 1860’s through to contemporary works, with particular reference to the reciprocal relationship between prevailing cultural attitudes and the way amputees are portrayed. The amputee protagonist has evolved from villain to wounded warrior hero with many permutations in between, including everyman, anti-hero, super-hero and cyborg. As the creative component is a YA work, the final chapter examines features of YA fiction in general before critically analysing the major YA novels in the ‘amp lit’ space in which the creative work, Second Shot is situated. In the last decade there has been a marked increase in the publication of amputee narratives. This has coincided with both an increasing presence of amputee athletes and public figures in the media and popular culture as well as the high visibility of wounded warrior amputees resulting from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The now considerable breadth and variety of amputee or amputation narratives is an area that has untapped potential for further critical evaluation.