Trauma and History in Ben Okri’s Fiction.doc

Trauma and History in Ben Okri’s Fiction 　　Abstract 　　In　his　Azaro　Trilogy，　Nigerian　writer　Ben　Okri　describes　a　fantastic　but　painful　world　in　the　style　of　magical　realism.　Through　the　miserable　life　of　Azaro’s　family　against　poverty　and　the　political　power　struggle　between　the　Party　of　the　Rich　and　the　Party　of　the　Poor　in　pre-independence　days，　the　trilogy　traces　the　causes　of　Nigerian　political　chaos　to　the　heritages　of　colonialism　and　regionalism，　and　foretells　the　impending　nightmarish　civil　war.　By　exploring　these　historical　issues，　Okri　reveals　how　Nigeria　has　been　traumatized　by　British　colonizers　and　how　the　dispossessed　are　oppressed　by　the　rich，　blems　of　Nigeria. 　　Key　words：　Okri；　Colonialism；　Regionalism；　The　civil　war；　Trauma 　　GUO　Deyan　（2012）.　Trauma　and　History　in　Ben　Okri’s　Fiction.　Cross-Cultural　Communication，　8（6），　-0.　Available　from：　http：///index.php/ccc/article/view/j.ccc.1923670020120806.1127 　　DOI：　http：///10.3968/j.ccc.1923670020120806.1127. 　　INTRODUCTION 　　Africa，　the　supposedly　cradle　of　human　life　in　anthropological　studies，　bears　a　heavy　burden　of　long　traumatized　history　of　slavery　and　colonialism.　Even　today，　many　countries，　though　they　won　their　political　independence　in　the　wake　of　the　Second　World　War，　blems：　political，　social，　ethnic，　religious　and　diplomatic，　as　in　the　cases　of　Ghana，　Uganda，　Sudan，　etc..　Sblems　plague　Nigeria，　the　most　populous　nation-state　in　Africa.　Its　tribalism，　racism，　political　corruption　and　economic　dispossession　are　at　the　core　of　Nigerian　social　chaos　and　they　are　the　repeated　concerns　of　contemporary　Nigerian　literature　as　in　the　writings　of　Amos　Tutuola　（1920-1997），　Wole　Soyinka　（1934-　），　Chinua　Achebe　（1930-　）， Ben　Okri　（1959-　）.　The　representative　writer　of　the　young　generation，　Ben　Okri　inherits　the　older　writers’　social　conscience　and　historical　consciousness，　assuming　the　writer’blems　with　Nigeria　and　to　call　up　Nigerian　people’s　awareness　of　their　past　as　a　guide　to　their　present.