INHERITED TRAUMATIC MEMORY: THE REPRESENTATION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB AS TRANSGENERATIONAL TRAUMA

Abstract

Trauma studies have has opened new paths in fiction to represent the sufferings of

human beings. One of the issues that trauma studies discuss is the transgenerational

transmission of trauma. Traumatic events are experienced by the victims, but their

psychological impacts can be inherited by the next generations even if they do not

experience the events at first hand. Therefore, transgenerational cycles of trauma

become inevitable in the family. This study aims to explore how transgenerational

trauma is represented and engaged via the character Hiroko and her son Raza in the

novel Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie. The focus of the study is the

representation of the traumas caused by atomic bombing and their physical and

psychological transmissions to the next generations. The trauma of Hiroko, as the

witness and survivor, is presented by exploring the traumatic memories of her

haunted past. Being captive in her own traumas, the character cannot avoid passing

on her traumas to her only child. The study focuses on the psychological impacts of

atomic bomb trauma and its transmission to the offspring of the survivors.

Key-words: trauma, traumatic memory, transgenerational trauma, atomic bomb,

Burnt Shadows.