Narrators as Witness: The Psychological Trauma and Cultural Memory as Represented by Toni Morison and Gloria Naylor

Cite this article as: Iyere M. J. (2025). Narrators as Witness: The Psychological Trauma and Cultural Memory as Represented by Toni Morison and Gloria Naylor. Zamfara International Journal of Humanities, 4(1), 193-198. www.doi.org/10.36349/zamijoh.2025.v04i01.018.

NARRATORS AS WITNESS: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA AND CULTURAL MEMORY AS REPRESENTED BY TONI MORISON AND GLORIA NAYLOR

By

Iyere Maria Jennifer (Ph.D)

Department of English Language and Literature, Federal University Gusau

Abstract:

African American Literature acts as a creative umpire that offers possibilities for blacks in the United States to mediate their general aspirations and desires/as a body of literature, black writing started in the 1st century as the medium that provides African Americans the platform to interrogate the dynamics of the African American Identity, community and experience within America. Therefore, this paper is anchored on the above title based on the history of the African American which is marked with series of traumatic events that can be traced back to the “middle passage” that is the millions of African who were taken away to work in coffee, cotton and sugar plantations. Consequently, the paper uses qualitative research method to gather information concerning trauma and cultural memory as presented in the selected texts.

Keywords: History, traumatic memory, self-discovery, self-assertiveness, psychoanalyst.

Introduction

The explosion of black women’s writing after the Civil Rights Movement in America is dubbed as the African American Women literary movement (Java Dreserova 2006), in view of this, the level of production of novels and books of poetry by African American women writers have been enormous (Henry L. Gates in Jana Drerserova 2006). Contents that “this condition attest to the validity and consistency both of this new leadership and of movement itself”. This movement is considered to be an extension of the Blackarts movement, as well as the pudiation. In this vein, African American women vrites’ works began to flourish in many publications and their works represented the legacy of the movement (Rowell in Jana Drerserova 2006) notes that some of the female authors tries to escape “the movement’s dictum that African American women writes should write solely for and about nationalist writing were Toni Morrison, Rita Dove, Alice Walker, Maya Angelo to mention a few.

The American literature then can be described as the period of re-discovering the black woman’s literary tradition. Hence, Gates (2006) notes that the black women’s past is just recovering piece by piece, as a result African American women writers trace their roots ad descent from their literary foremothers, such as Frances Harper, Pauline Hopkins, Zora Neale Hurton and Dorothy West. West, More so, the works of black women in America began to expand because within that period their literature were published in the mainstream houses and they became popular in America and the world at large.

It is in the light of the above, that Toni Morrison and Gloria Naylor creatively and aesthetically write about women of colour and non-white women in America. For emphasis, Seodial Deena cited in Damian O. Lewis (2009) talks about the fate of women more appropriately, that African American women like Gloria Naylor and Toni Morrison “who had no alternative but to discover and define themselves through their writing in order to liberate themselves”. Thus, their works have increasing been recognized and provided the impetus for black women’s relevance in the literary space. Consequently, the selected authors present characters whose behaviours, actions and inactions are ‘absurd’ or illogical as indications of some unaddressed psychological conflicts.

Background of African American History

The literary text has been used to contest certain myths about the Negroes in America. One of such skewed myths is that Negros, in contrast to people from other races possess certain racial traits which uniquely make them fit for bondage. Such myths was born out of sheer mischief and misconceptions of white doctors, scientist and pseudo-scientists who had contrived a physiological basis for alleged temperamental and intellectual differences between white and black people in America. Kenneth Stamp (1956) notes that of one such prejudices is traceable to Dr. Samuel W. Cartwright of Louisara, who agreed that “the visible difference in skin pigmentation also extended to the membranes, the tendons and all the fluids and secretion”. As such even the “Negro brain and nerves are tinctured with a shade of the pervading darkness”. Therefore, this and other Theological, Anthropological, Historical and Philosophical were used to define the Negros in America some years ago.

History has it that slavery and freedom from the backbone of African American Literature that is why Morgentsern (1996) argues that these two cannot be separated (that is history and literature) in order words (trauma and narratives). Apart from the historical events of world wars and holocaust, the African American slavery is another significant part on trauma. Consequently, the focus trauma in this paper is to address the long term psychological and physical effects on individual and collectively. Thus, these links trauma, history and the development of identity both individual and collective the business of the selected writers preoccupation. The novels offer a compelling example of how past personal and collective trauma, though intrinsically intertwined with history can be forgotten only to reappear later and most cases in the subconscious as stories, myth and traditions.

Consequently, to buttress the above position, Hume as cited in Gates Mckay (1997) said that “I am apt to suspect the Negros and in general all other species of men – to be naturally inferior to the whites. There never was a civilized nation of any other complexion that white, nor even any individual eminent either in action or speculation. “His view, promotes the superiority of white people over not only African Americans, but overall non whites races. It is against this back drop that the 18^th century, African American writes saw themselves as people with special mission to counter and debunk the motion of black people as being incapable of literary expression.

Theoretical Framework

Sigmund Freud (1939) was the founding father psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is basically a method for treating mental illness and also a theory which explain human behaviour. The emphasis of this paper is on how the theory explains human behaviour. Thus Freud believed that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality. For instance, anxiety, fears and worries emanating from the traumatic experience of one’s past life is hidden from the consciousness and may lead to problems during childhood in form of neuroses.

Additionally, to the above, when one explains his behavour to himself or other (conscious mental activity), one rarely gives a true account of his motivation. This is not because he is deliberately lying. In essence, while human beings are great deceivers of others, they are however more adapt to self-deception. Thus, Freud’s work was an attempt to find ways of penetrating the subtle and elaborate camouflage that obscures the hidden structure and process of personality. Freud captures the unconscious mind which is the area responsible for all traumatic experiences and categories it into three parts. These are:

i.        Conscious mind: This is the small mental activity we know about (thoughts and perceptions)

ii.      The subconscious mind: Deals with the things we could be aware of it we wanted or tried (memories, store of knowledge and)

iii.   The conscious mind: These are things we are unaware of and cannot become aware of (instinct-sexual and aggressive). However, the focus here is on addressing the long term psychological and often physical effects traumatic event have on individuals as well as humanity collectively providing these needs led first to the establishment in 1980 of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the diagnostic canon of the medical and psychiatric professions. The disciples of this school include Dominic Hacapra, Cathy Caruth Shoshana Freeman, Judith Herman, Ron Eyeman and others. Their contribution to trauma studies remained important.

Social Variation of Women writing

Black women and women in the developing world have cliqued the idea of a single model for all women experiences as “Eurocentric” as it imposes western perspectives and experiences on them. This argument rests on the fact that no single feminine voice, writer or activist can adequately capture the experiences of all women of all cultures and races. This is because society, culture and race dictate peculiar experiences that may not be the norm for other women of other societies. Therefore, the notion that one voice from the west make the women of other cultures, “the other” of the European woman. It also overlooks the literary expressions of black women and women in the developing world as they narrate experiences alien to their counterparts in the western world.

Critics and writers all over the world have agreed (opined) that social background of each female writer must be considered in reading and understanding their works. This variation of women writing is also about slavery, racism, colonialism, post colonialism, political and economic exploitation, oppression, and religion, which have created different conditions. Significantly, more so the slavery in United State of America gave the African American the status of mere property, such that decades after the abolition of slavery, they struggle to negotiate their realities of freedom, poverty and deprivation. Colonialism and post colonialism in Africa and Asia have also given the various societies in the continent evils to hinder economic and political growth thereby introducing poverty and class differences. It is in this light that writers like Alice Walker, Flora Nwapa, Toni Morrison, Bessie Head Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie focus on in their writings.

Exponents of the Trauma Theory

Trauma theory was a conventional theory, which did not pay attention at bearing witness to traumatic histories in order to unearth the suffering of the traumatic victims. The exponents of this theory were the offshoot of post-colonial trauma theory including Cathy, Garuth, Geofery Hartman, Felman Shoshena and Dory Lams, drawing exhaustively from Freudian Pscho-analysis. This theory was short-lived because some critics with post-colonial influence highlighted a number of lapses that affected its main motives. These lapse include, “many controversies”, ‘contradictions’ ‘limitations’ and inconsistent and such it suffers great limitation for literary studies.

However, being a work in progress which is still undergoing a radical transformation, a number of personalities are still contributing to the accomplishment of the theory. In line with above Morrison and Naylor like other post-colonial writers depict the African American experience, in a manner that speaks back to the whites in America, thereby; creating space for the subaltern or marginalized black society to produce alternatives to dominate discourse. Thus, one of the highpoints of post-colonial writers as Morrison and Naylor is their challenge of stereotypes, myths and images of the oppressed and silenced blacks in America which they do by recasting them through stories, these writers create space for the marginalized voices within America, using literature as a potent source of negotiating the location, identify and interests of African Americans in America.

Plot Summary

Toni Morrison (2008) in A mercy writes about an important moment in African American history, with reference to the history of American slavery. In her narratives, florens the central voice who is the main character begins the story by outpouring her perspectives and experience about the traumatic and devastating life of a black woman. Being an African American, she lives in a heterogeneous group Jacob Vaark, a white settler and a slaver has assembled as members of his farm. Florens who was six years old at the time was sold into slavery to Jacob Vaark by her mother to offset her master’s debt, De Otega. This act demonstrates how blacks were traded during slavery like properties by the then white slaves owners in America.

Florens, Sorrow and Lina, suffer very poor parenting, their childhood is full of uncertainties and sad situations that render their mental balance and make up almost impossible. Freud’s discovery that some difficulties in certain individuals are related to unresolved unconsciousness conflicts that arise in the early stage of child development and continue into adulthood applies to all the female protagonist examined in the novel.

However, Florens does not know her mother’s inner worries and what remains of her mother’s traumatic memory.

This explains why she constantly questions how a mother can give up her little girl and send her off with a white trade as a slave. Her traumatic feelings grows even worse when for the second time she feels rejected again in her new home, this brings to mind the post-colonial notion of place and displacement. In this regards, Florens’ feeling of rejection and displacement by her community is anchored on the premise that her notion of ‘self’ has been altered and violated by cultural displacement and conscious and unconscious suppression of her identity by a supposedly superior racial or cultural displacement and the conscious and unconscious suppression of her identity by a supposedly superior racial or cultural model.

This phenomenon of subtle subjugation and exploitation in A mercy are able to disseminate their impartial values through the church without coercion, thereby making the slaves imbibe western religious values, in continuing struggle to survive. Religion is seen by Morrison as a mechanism by which the white – majority rule in America interrogates western religious arrogance towards the subaltern African American and Native American cultures in America and the negative nomenclature given to any religious affiliation that is not western.

In the above narratives, Lines as one of the leading characters in the novel was renamed by her new religion, which signifies hope and freedom from her so-called heathen way of life. “They named her Messalina, but shortened to Lina, which she acknowledged. The implication of this is that, unknown to Lina, western religion is used to induce submission in her as she unconsciously promotes the dominant world view.

In a similar way, Naylor’s  The women of Brewster Place (TWBP) portrays the residents of Brewster place as women (characters) whom haunted by their past experiences, engage or exhibit destructive tendencies that are against the interest of either themselves or other around them. This aspect examines the psychological trauma and the unconscious determinant of each characters behavioural trait.

In depicting the problem of psychological trauma and cultural memory in the globalized American society, Naylor’s Women of Brewster Place examine the discontentment of African Americans in the novel. The novel is drawn against the background of racial polemics in America. Conscious of the racial attitude that the white Americans display in America, Naylor begins the narratives from the perspective of “collective memory” and collective storytelling of the past trauma, the literary technique used by Naylor in this story to voice the African American women’s experience are also examined from the psychoanalytic perspective as a “healing” or reconstructive tool that create the possibility of recovery and recuperating the past. This personal past and shared present significantly moves these women’s stories from a focus on individual memory to that of collective memories and histories. Although each woman has different backgrounds and directions in life, but Naylor brings the narrative together and search for unattainable ‘goods’ and thus emphasizing the importance of sharing their memories and experiences.

In one sense, Mattie Michael becomes pregnant from her first sexual encounter and as a result loses that love of her father who feels betrayed by the situation. Mattie was forced to leave her home because of the disappointment from Butch Fuller and her father who finds it difficult to forgive her. She eventually pours all of her love on her son, Basil, the only “thing” left for her. She also told her, Etta Johnson that she is not looking for anything but stared down at her son and revealed that statement. She further confirmed her statement to Mrs. Eva, her new found mother that her bed has not been empty since the birth of her son, Basil. In the above analysis, according to Frued, such conflicts when not properly resolved will result to further trauma in the person’s attitudes. Frued coined the word “transferred” to explain that our earlier formative experiences usually within the context of the primary attachment relationship especially to parents, siblings and significant others determined our response and behavours to certain situation in later years. This has remained one of the most powerful explanatory tools in psychoanalysis today.

Issues raised in both novels are issues that are peculiar to the African American woman and affect her position in the society. They include the oppression of women, religious fundamentalism, quest for power and wealth. Morrison’s use of narratives allows her to in adeptly explore the African American experience, in this light, it is experience of African American women that helps Morrison to define the challenges of black people within the traumatic life. In American society, Morrison’s A Mercy contains both passion and skills in abundance, but more importantly, it presents her latest effort to reveal, to guide and to protect the African American identity located as it is within the larger American society. Thus, A Mercy explores not only American pastoral past but also the early beginnings of slavery in America.

Conclusion

Having examined those texts, this paper bears the recreation of History, the conflicts between memory and history, the recovery of the past and its uses for identity formation. It has demonstrated to a large extent the dynamic nature of African American life and experience in relation to American. In this regard, by deliberately centralizing the experience of African Americans through female characters, Morrison’s A Mercy and Naylors Women of Brewter Place have on the one had portrayed black women in America as slaves, stereotyped, strong, brave and resilient. On the other hand, depicts African American women a representational father figures, mothers, resourceful and sometimes weak. These representations of women in various ways through the different literary platforms collectively reflect the overall African American identity, community and experience within the context of psychoanalysis trauma.

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