Belatedness and Testimony: A Trauma Studies Perspective of Omar Mohamed’s When Stars Are Scattered

Steward C; T. Marx

Steward C Ph.D., Scholar, Department of English, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India
T. Marx Professor, Department of English, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India

Keywords: Refugee Narratives, Belatedness, Testimony, Nightmares, Graphic Narratives

Abstract

This paper analyses the portrayal of trauma and displacement in When Stars Are Scattered, a graphic memoir by Omar Mohamed, in the light of Caruth, Felman and Laub’s trauma theory. The narrative shows the fragmented nature of traumatic memory, which could be aligned with Caruth’s claim that trauma cannot be fully absorbed into consciousness immediately after the event. The concept of belatedness and testimony put forth by Caruth and Laub is applied to the text, bringing out the instances where the protagonist relives the traumatic experience through
nightmares. By analyzing the visual elements of the novel, the study highlights the outstanding quality of graphic narratives in portraying the complex emotional states of the characters.