The Night Shift

The Night Shift opens with an epigraph from A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway. It reads: “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places” (vii). This quote introduces the importance of trauma as a thematic concept. Alex Finlay’s exploration of trauma, its lasting effects, and the ways in which people try to heal focuses on three characters: Ella, Chris, and Jesse. A deep dive into Ella’s experiences offers a thorough look at the legacy of trauma, for her story demonstrates that trauma inflicts long-lasting damage. Little is said about Ella’s earliest trauma (her brother’s death), but this event significantly changes her life. She begins attending public school instead of an elite private school, and she even works a part-time job despite her family’s wealth. In turn, she survives a mass murder at that job. In the dramatic present, 15 years later, Ella’s unresolved trauma has saddled her with a variety of problems, fears, and behavioral issues. Subtext and the narrative tone make it clear that these problems—hair-pulling, a Xanax addiction, and a compulsion to cheat on her fiancé with strangers—are all products of her trauma.