Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State
Drawing on a postcolonialised approach to the traditional trauma paradigm, this paper analyses Roxane Gay’s novel An Untamed State as a trauma narrative which does not solely revolve around the Haitian American protagonist’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ensuing her abduction and violation in Port...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad de Valladolid
2022-11-01
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| Series: | ES Review |
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.uva.es/index.php/esreview/article/view/6867 |
| _version_ | 1811179357884907520 |
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| author | Laura Roldán-Sevillano |
| author_facet | Laura Roldán-Sevillano |
| author_sort | Laura Roldán-Sevillano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Drawing on a postcolonialised approach to the traditional trauma paradigm, this paper analyses Roxane Gay’s novel An Untamed State as a trauma narrative which does not solely revolve around the Haitian American protagonist’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ensuing her abduction and violation in Port-au-Prince, as suggested by previous critical work. Particularly, it aims to demonstrate that Gay’s heroine is a resilient survivor of both a rape-related trauma and the traumatic blow to her partly Haitian identity caused by her direct contact with Haiti’s social and gender issues. Lastly, the essay examines how the novel delves into the unresolved cultural traumas derived from the effects of (post)colonialism in Haiti, which push the protagonist’s victimisers to commit such terrible acts.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:34:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ffb4dd108baf41ad83519800ff47a26c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2531-1646 2531-1654 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:34:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Universidad de Valladolid |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ES Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-ffb4dd108baf41ad83519800ff47a26c2022-12-22T04:39:53ZengUniversidad de ValladolidES Review2531-16462531-16542022-11-014310.24197/ersjes.43.2022.265-287Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed StateLaura Roldán-Sevillano0Universidad de Zaragoza. España Drawing on a postcolonialised approach to the traditional trauma paradigm, this paper analyses Roxane Gay’s novel An Untamed State as a trauma narrative which does not solely revolve around the Haitian American protagonist’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ensuing her abduction and violation in Port-au-Prince, as suggested by previous critical work. Particularly, it aims to demonstrate that Gay’s heroine is a resilient survivor of both a rape-related trauma and the traumatic blow to her partly Haitian identity caused by her direct contact with Haiti’s social and gender issues. Lastly, the essay examines how the novel delves into the unresolved cultural traumas derived from the effects of (post)colonialism in Haiti, which push the protagonist’s victimisers to commit such terrible acts. https://revistas.uva.es/index.php/esreview/article/view/6867postcolonial traumasystemic raperesiliencevictimisersHaitian American literature |
| spellingShingle | Laura Roldán-Sevillano Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State ES Review postcolonial trauma systemic rape resilience victimisers Haitian American literature |
| title | Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State |
| title_full | Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State |
| title_fullStr | Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State |
| title_full_unstemmed | Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State |
| title_short | Haiti’s “Painful Truths”: A Postcolonialised Reading of Trauma in Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State |
| title_sort | haiti s painful truths a postcolonialised reading of trauma in roxane gay s an untamed state |
| topic | postcolonial trauma systemic rape resilience victimisers Haitian American literature |
| url | https://revistas.uva.es/index.php/esreview/article/view/6867 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lauraroldansevillano haitispainfultruthsapostcolonialisedreadingoftraumainroxanegaysanuntamedstate |