Trauma in West African Civil Wars, case studies: Abani’s Song for night (2007) and Kamara’s and McClelland’s The bite of the mango (2008)
Loading...
Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University Mouloud Mammeri
Abstract
The following research paper deals with the issues of childhood and war trauma in Chris Abani’s
Song for night (2007) and Mariatu Kamara’s and Susan McClelland’s The bite of the mango
(2008). The purpose of the study is to compare between the writings of these two African authors,
the Nigerian novelist Chris Abani and the Sierra Leonean survivor Mariatu Kamara, who write
nearly about similar topics, but in vastly different ways during the same period of time; that is the
West African Civil Wars. As a whole, the research aims at examining how African children cope
with traumatic experiences and how childhood narratives represent the disarray in Africa's newly
independent nations.To attain my objective, I have used Davis, C., & Meretoja, H The Routledge
companion to literature and trauma (2020) in addition to other literary theories and criticism. The
first chapter of my discussion analyzes the two works by examining trauma through the lenses of
Witnessing and Narrative which are the result of what the characters have been through or seen
others go through after experiencing or witnessing traumatic events like amputation, rape, or the
loss of loved ones. In the second chapter, I examined the way the two authors portrayed their
protagonists, and how those depictions relate to the symptoms of victimization and perpetrator
trauma. In doing so, I have shown that the two protagonists; Mariatu and My Luck were not given
a carefree upbringing by the adults in their respective lives, who instead instilled on them a sense
of responsibility and accountability. This goes without saying that the western media's use of war
victims to portray the state of affairs in the war-torn countries is a result of their engagement in the
conflict that contributed to the perpetuation of a set of stereotypes which have been utilized in a
degrading manner towards these victims. Thus, the traumas of the perpetrators and the victims of
violence are tackled in these novels; however, my findings demonstrated that the two sides have
the same sets of symptoms which allowed me to make this comparative study possible
Description
59p. ; 30cm(+CD-Rom)
Keywords
Africa, Civil War, MEDICINE::Surgery::Anaesthetics and intensive care::Traumatology, Victimhood, Violence
Citation
Literature and Civilization