Psychoanalytic Approaches to Trauma and Collective Memory in Contemporary Post Colonial Diasporic Literature

Abstract

The article concentrates on how collective memory and trauma intersect in postcolonial diasporic literature using psychoanalytical approach. The paper discusses how the literature represents the trauma, which in the majority of the cases is founded on colonial violence and displacement, in such works as The God of Small Things and White Teeth. Psychoanalytic concepts like repression, transference and the return of the repressed are used to explain the unconscious processes that have led to the characters reaction to the traumatic experiences. The paper reviews how these processes are manifested in the identities of the characters, their behaviors and relationships, revealing the psychological trauma of colonial pasts. Further, the paper determines the role of collective memory in the postcolonial diasporic discourses, which implies that collective memory of past traumas impacts individual and community identity. The interpretation shows that though trauma is a very personal experience, it is a common experience and it is passed across generations and is reflected in the cultural discourse. The findings reveal that psychoanalytic approaches are priceless tools in the study of the emotional and psychological nature of postcolonial experiences, as they show the picture of how the trauma and memory negotiation process takes place in the community of diasporas. The paper concludes with recommendations to the future research including the implementation of trauma theory on more recent forms of displacement and how trauma interacts with other identity markers like race, gender, and class.