War and Absurdity Viewing the Manifestations of Trauma in Uwem Akpans “Luxurious Hearses”

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" War and Absurdity Viewing the Manifestations of Trauma in Uwem Akpans “Luxurious Hearses” "
H. Oby Okolocha

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1076504
Doc. No	:	LA120133
Call No	:	‭10.1163/18757421-040001010‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	H. Oby Okolocha
Title & Author	:	War and Absurdity Viewing the Manifestations of Trauma in Uwem Akpans “Luxurious Hearses” [Article]\ H. Oby Okolocha
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill
Title of Periodical	:	Matatu
Date	:	2012
Volume/ Issue Number	:	40/1
Page No	:	159–172
Abstract	:	This essay examines the circumstances of Jubril, Chief Ukongo, and Colonel Usenetok, three casualties of shari'ah war fleeing to safety in Uwem Akpan's novella “Luxurious Hearses.” Particularly identified is the loss of personhood that afflicts these individuals as a result of war – a loss of self that manifests itself in absurdity. The focus is not on the war but on the absurd manifestations of trauma in the personalities of these characters. Akpan paints poignant and convincing pictures of the horrors of war, the physical and mental dislocation of individuals in a martial situation. This essay also seeks to analyse the meaning of life for the individual in a situation of war and to demonstrate that, for those caught up in the throes of war or conflict, life has one basic meaning – physical survival. All other associated meanings of life such as ambition, hope, aspiration, and desire are non-existent for the characters portrayed in Akpan's narrative.
Descriptor	:	African Studies
Descriptor	:	Comparative Studies World Literature
Descriptor	:	Criticism Theory
Descriptor	:	Cultural History
Descriptor	:	Literature Culture
Descriptor	:	Literature and Cultural Studies
Descriptor	:	Postcolonial Literature Culture
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/18757421-040001010‬